


Clean Slate (Or the age regression, protection, fostering, and (eventual) reformation of one Lila Rossi)

by ShadowmanePX41



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Age Regression/De-Aging, Childhood, Gen, Lila Rossi Redemption, Plans For The Future, Sharing a Bed, Teenage Parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:47:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 65,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21831673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowmanePX41/pseuds/ShadowmanePX41
Summary: It was just another day for Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Work at school, fight Hawkmoth's latest villain, pound-it with Cat Noir, the usual. The one thing that she was not expecting was to find a baby on her doorstep when she got home for the day.And she definitely was not prepared for what came after...
Comments: 73
Kudos: 126





	1. In Which Marinette Finds a Baby on her Doorstep

It was just another day for Ladybug. Armed with her yo-yo and travelling side-by-side with Cat Noir, on the hunt for Hawkmoth's latest villain. By now, she knew that, if she couldn't find it straight away, then just following the devastation they left behind would be enough of a clue as to where they were. She had been well-versed enough with this whole superhero business by now that it was almost second nature to her.

Their travel had led them towards the Bois de Vincennes; the largest park in Paris, and where their next opponent was waiting. A villain by the name of Matriarch, armed with a large bazooka that resembled a baby bottle. She was a villain who looked like a combination of a mother and a nurse, given the white clothing on her body, the green apron down her neck, and the elongated black hair streaming out of her head. She pulled the trigger on her bazooka, sending a torrent of white milk at the nearest passerby, which, upon colliding, transformed them back into a baby, which Matriarch quickly snatched up and placed with the other couple hundred in the park.

"Oy vey... Now that's a mess and a half, isn't it m'lady?" Cat Noir was the first to remark as he and Ladybug tried to stay out of sight. "It's a good thing your Miraculous Ladybugs always fix everything, though. Right?"

"I still don't get what could have caused her to get Akumatised like this..." Ladybug replied as her eyes swept the park, trying to see if there was any way that she and Cat Noir could sneak up on Matriarch and take her down without a struggle.

"Eh. Probably the usual. A falling out with someone, overworked to the point of breaking down. Those seem to be pretty popular these days." Cat Noir gripped his rod. "But the end goal is the same. They want our Miraculouses, so what's really the point in trying to overanalyse a bad guy from Hawkmoth?"

"Know your enemy, Cat Noir. The better you do, the easier it is to find the cause and solution to their problem." Ladybug had always been responsible for finding what made a person tick, what drove them to the dark side, so that she could easily find a way to reason with them and turn their lives around after the fact."

"I'm just saying that if we don't end up taking action now, then she's gonna break off and turn everyone in Paris into babies. And I'm pretty sure it doesn't take a genius to know that's going to cause MAJOR chaos." Cat was itching to get out of his hiding space and take the fight straight to Matriarch. "Sometimes, princess, you've just gotta take a chance." And without warning, Cat Noir sped off across the rooftops, getting closer to Matriarch as she turned her gaze to another human nearby.

"Cat Noir..." Ladybug groaned to herself as she just gave chase to him, which eventually lead to the both of them leaping out for Matriarch, landing before her.

"Alright, miss Akuma-villain. Drop the bottle and nobody gets hurt!" Cat Noir declared as he held his staff out towards the villain.

"Before you decide to judge me purely as another puppet on the chain, do you at least know why I'm doing this? Or do you not care, given how much you've had to fight since you donned those masks?" Matriarch asked, holding her weapon stoically in the face of her enemy.

" _Of course I care_. It's just that, you're doing this for all the wrong reasons; serving a terrorist like Hawkmoth." Ladybug sighed as she clutched her yo-yo. "I'm sure that whatever intentions you have are good, but they're being twisted and warped by him. And I'm sorry to say that, because of him, we have to stop you."

"And, as much as I'm sure that we'd all like to be kids again, growing up's just a part of life," added Cat Noir. "You can't just keep playing mother to everyone and everything. People need to be able to live their lives the way they want to."

"But why should they? When their lifes are full of sadness, bitterness, rage, despair, and other such negativity?" Matriarch asked, as she wandered over and picked up one of her victims, who couldn't help but grin at her. "This baby is Marc Anciel. So lost and alone, worried that he'd only be safe in the shadows. Look at how happy he is now, you two." She put him down and let him off, while going to scoop up another one. "Sabrina Raincomprix. So mousy, reclusive, and subservient to someone else that she lost her identity." Matriarch didn't even flinch as Sabrina played with her face. "Do you want her to grow up, and make her go back to that cold, hard life?"

"Matriarch, there's no point in trying to—"

"And what about this one, Ladybug?" Matriarch put Sabrina back with the others, her face falling back to normal when her little hands had been pried from it. After which, she picked up one that the two of them knew all too well. "Chloe Bourgeois. Queen Bee, last you recall her. Do I even need to say what was so wrong with her? A spoilt girl with horrible parents, trapped in a hightower of superiority. She never wanted to change, she doesn't want any way but hers, and she's tainted and ruined beyond salvation. Do you WANT this girl to be that horrible, atrocious, stain on human life again? Or would you rather her be a baby? Where she has a second chance at everything?"

"If you're done with the guilt-tripping, we've gotta wrap this up." Cat Noir cut through Matriarch's howling. "C'mon, m'lady. Let's shut down this oversized daycare, shall we?"

Ladybug gave a nod to Cat Noir and held her yo-yo in her usual combat-stance, twirling it by her side. "We've all got hard lives. But it's what we do with them that make them all worthwhile. And sure, we might not like to get old, and things do get rough, but at least we've had those chances to mature; to actually be ourselves. And if you're gonna deny us that, then I've got no choice but to take you down."

"Okay. Fine. Be that way." Matriarch returned Chloe to the park, clutched her bazooka, and aimed down the scope at Ladybug and Cat Noir. "We'll never see eye-to-eye, after all. I'm just a Hawkmoth villain and you're the superheroes of Paris. The only solution is battle. So, if you don't mind, children, it's way past your bedtime." She leapt into the air. "Here. Let me TUCK YOU IN!" She pulled the trigger, sending a torrent down at the two teenage heroes, who nimbly dodged out of the way.

"No thanks. I only take cat naps when I want to." Cat Noir said, lunging at Matriarch with his bo staff. He was just able to land a hit in before she could fire, misdirecting another blast far away from all of them.

Ladybug and Cat Noir, from there, were locked in combat. Dodges from all sides as the three superpowered humans tried their best to strike the other down. Matriarch with her akumatised bottle, and Ladybug and Cat Noir with their tools and quick reflexes. As the battle raged on, neither side gave an inch, and neither side had changed or worn themselves down even the slightest bit. They had taken their fight to the rooftops, so as not to disturb or harm any of the baby-fied victims of Matriarch's powers, and to give themselves more free reign over the battlefield.

"Don't you know it's bad to play with your food, Matriarch?" Cat Noir joked as he slipped out of the way of another of her shots. "Besides. It doesn't even look warm. You know cats always like our milk to be hot."

"Nngh... Stay still, why don't you?!" Matriarch called out, barrelling into Cat Noir, knocking him down. She stood over him and pointed the tip of her weapon at his face. "This will all be over soon, little one..."

A quick-thinking Ladybug lassoed Matriarch off of Cat Noir, causing another wave of her milk to fire in the wrong direction. She roped back the villain and kicked her away, causing her to tumble to the ground.

"Think it's about time we wrap this up, m'lady." Cat Noir looked down at the felled villain.

"I couldn't agree more, kitty." Ladybug tossed her yo-yo airborne. "Lucky Charm!" Her classic move. It never failed, no matter what she got. Even though, as usual, what she got out of it wasn't what she expected. And today was no different, as when the light fell and she received her Lucky Charm item, it was "A bag of marbles? What am I supposed to do with these?"

"Didn't think you had time to play games, bugaboo. But it's your Lucky Charm, so I guess I can't really complain..." Cat Noir shrugged. "Just give me the direction and I'll run with it."

Ladybug examined the situation as best as she could, using her perception to string together a plan. Her eyes connected with one of the infants, then that of Matriarch, then Cat Noir, and then the bag of marbles. "I've got it!" Ladybug grinned. "Cat Noir, you keep Matriarch busy. I'll be right back." She gave him a fist-pump, then leapt back down to the park.

"Well, you heard the lady, miss. Let's play." Cat Noir sprung towards Matriarch, using his staff to keep himself off of the ground while Matriarch re-armed her bazooka and fired in spurts at the black-clad cat hero. "C'mon. I'm right here. You can't hit a single target like this? Where's that whole, big, bad, supervillain part of you. Did Hawkmoth forget to put that in this time?" Cat Noir teased as he nimbly and gracefully avoided more shots, even posing like a ballerina in places as it barely brushed past him.

"Just one hit is all I need. One blast and you'll be back in diapers, Hawkmoth gets his Miraculouses, and I get to save everyone from themselves!" Matriarch launched herself airborne and let a series of bazooka shots rain down from the sky, splashing milk everywhere on the streets. Cat Noir was barely able to get out of the way in time, with droplets coming within inches of his skin.

"In your dreams. That's assuming Akuma-villains even have 'em. We never get to know how they sleep at night anyway..." Cat Noir remarked as he hid from one last shot.

"Hey, Matriarch!" Ladybug called from the other side of the street, with her marbles in one hand and a baby Alya in the other. "You wanna play a game?"

"What are you doing? You're not licensed to handle kids! You're underage!" Matriarch's fiery gaze turned to Ladybug. "Don't you know that it's been proven that teenage parents are more likely to lose control then grown-up parents?" She barked, then ran for Ladybug with Cat Noir hiding in wait. "Give me that child back!"

Ladybug, as she planned, ran off with the villain behind her. She managed to swing to and fro, making sure not to lose her grip on the marbles or baby Alya as she enacted her plan. All the while, her little passenger was squealing with delight as she soared through the air with the heroine. Cat Noir tailed the both of them, with his Cataclysm armed and ready to strike.

"Just gotta keep moving... Never stop for a second." Ladybug muttered to herself as she looked back at Cat Noir and Matriarch. "Wait for it... wait for it..." She watched Matriarch jump for her and the baby in her hands. "Now!" She unleashed the marbles and got out of the way. When Matriarch landed, her feet touched the marbles and she skidded off down the street, before landing on her stomach.

"N-no... No!" Matriarch went for her bottle bazooka and readied it for another strike. She didn't even look as she picked it up and went for the trigger. As she tried to point it skyward, she fired, but Cat Noir's Cataclysm destroyed the weapon after the shot had been launched, destroying the object. "NO!"

"Ladybug! The Akuma!" Cat Noir called out as the both of them watched the Akuma flit out of the decimated weapon.

"On it, Cat Noir." Ladybug put down baby Alya, ruffling her hair. "Thanks for the help, Alya." She said, before opening her yo-yo up, ready to purify another Akuma. "Time to de-evilise!" She called out, before snagging the black-winged butterfly once more. "Gotcha!" One scrubbing later, and a white butterfly popped out of the yo-yo. "Bye-bye little butterfly." Ladybug waved it off, before tossing the emptied bag of marbles into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!" She called out, and a wave of red ladybugs came otu of it, doing their work.

As they danced around the victims that Matriarch had transformed, they were turned back to normal, starting with Alya, then spreading out to all of the other babies in the park, turning them back into their grown-up selves, who all let out sighs of relief as they found themselves back to normal. This went on and on until every single victim who had been changed by Matriarch was back to normal. After that, a wave of black goo turned Matriarch back into her human self, being that of a woman with short black hair, an apron around her neck, and a bright yellow t-shirt with purple trousers.

"Pound It!" Ladybug and Cat Noir fist-bumped each other triumphantly; their work done for another day, as Hawkmoth's latest plot had been foiled.

"Wh-what happened to me?" The woman asked as she came to her senses. "Ladybug? Cat Noir? Guess that explains it. I turned evil, didn't I?" She asked, hanging her head.

"Yeah. You did. But it's all over now, thanks to the two of us." Cat Noir picked the woman back up. "Look. I get it. It's not nice to see what people become, especially when they're not living the best that they could be. But there's better ways to handle that, you know."

"Especially whenever Hawkmoth's involved. We can't reach out to everyone, but the ones that we do have and like, we can. It might not seem like much, but doing a little means a lot to people that you cherish." Ladybug held her hand out to the woman. "Don't dwell too much on it, miss. Just be happy for what you have."

"R-right. Thanks, Ladybug." The woman looked up at Ladybug and gave a grin. "I'll try my best."

"That's all that we can ask of you," she said. Then, her Miraculous started to beep. "Oh! Sorry about that. Gotta split. Bug out!" She said, before swooping away, off to another corner of Paris.

"I'd better split too." Cat Noir looked at his ring, seeing that the segments were starting to disappear. "Last thing Paris needs is to know my identity. Catch ya later!" He said, extending his staff to pole jump his way across the city, away from the reformed woman.

* * *

Time passed and Ladybug finally arrived back at her house. "Tikki. Spots Off." She called out, causing her to lose the suit and turn back into Marinette Dupain-Cheng, ejecting Tikki from her earrings in the process. "Good job today, Tikki."

"Thank you, Marinette." Tikki flitted back into Marinette's hands, her exhaustion showing as she flopped onto her back. "I try my best for you."

"And I do the same for you as Ladybug." Marinette walked into her room and sat down on the chair at her desk, stroking the top of Tikki's head. "I'm actually glad that I was able to finish that as fast as I did. Now, I get spare time to work on my designs. Besides, mom and dad aren't gonna be back for another twenty minutes. Idle hands are the devil's workshop, after all."

Just before Marinette was about to begin typing, she heard a faint call from the outside. It was muffled heavily by how high up in her house she was, but she could still make it out. It was the distinguishable sound of a baby crying. And from the sound of it, it wasn't too far off. It stil wasn't enough to draw her attention away from the computer, however. That was, until she noticed that it had been going on for a few minutes. Usually, she had expected sounds like this to come and go, but this one went on for longer than she had been expecting.

"What is that?" Marinette asked herself as she walked out onto the balcony and looked down at the source of the noise. Sure enough, she saw the crying baby, but it was all alone by the doorstep. The parents were nowhere in sight and it was in a basket, looking abandoned. She let out a gasp when she saw the state that the child was in and immediately sped downstairs to go and collect it. It took her no time to get out of her room, down the stairs, through the bakery, and to the front door, where she got a closer look at the wailing infant.

"What is a baby doing here?" Marinette asked herself as she lowered her hands down to pick up the basket. As she brought the child closer to her face, she noticed the crying begin to die down a tad. The baby was red in the face and had likely cried so much that it had used all of its' breath and energy. Now, it just laid there in the basket with tears dripping from its' closing eyes. "H-hey there. Are you... alright?" Marinette asked, but no response came. "What were you expecting, Marinette? She's a baby. Of course she's not gonna be able to talk back to you..." She muttered to herself as she just carried the baby into the bakery and closed the door behind her. "In fact, what are you even doing, Marinette Dupain-Cheng? The family's already got enough mouths to feed. And you're definitely not qualified to handle another baby in the family. And I'm especially sure that mom and dad won't want any part in this either..." Her words mismatched her actions as, without even noticing it, she had brought the baby back into her lounge/kitchen. "I know, but we've still gotta find some way to get over this—get over it?! She's a baby! In our house! Mom and dad stopped having them for a reason, you know! Well, what are we supposed to do about it? Leave her there crying in the street? I don't know about you, Marinette, but I'm gonna take care of this and you can't stop me." She had a verbal battle with herself as she climbed back up the ladder into her room, bringing the baby up with her.

"Marinette? What was it?" Tikki asked as she flew back over to Marinette's side. "You sounded like you were fighting yourself as you came back up. Did something bad happen along the way?" She asked, then looked down at what was in Marinette's hands. "A... baby?"

"Y-yeah, Tikki. I don't know how it happened either, but there was a baby by our front door and she looked like she was left all alone, the poor thing." Ladybug laid a hand on the baby's cheek, feeling how warm it was after that little crying fit it had. "I'm sure that it's a girl, but the rest of it... I can't really tell for sure. There's no letter for it, no-one to contact, no nothing."

"That's just... cold." Tikki watched the upset baby, now slumbering after having tuckered itself out from all of the sadness it had gone through. "Who would be that heartless to do that to someone?"

"I don't know, Tikki. Maybe it was an accident? I really can't fathom any of this, since it just... well... happened. But the one thing I do know is that she's not safe out there." Marinette put the basket down on her bed and let the baby sleep in it. "For now, until we can find some way to move forward, she's gonna be with us. I just hope mom and dad are gonna be fine about it."

"I'm sure they will, Marinette. If you just explain it to them, then I'm sure they'll understand your reasons and make sure to help you out if you need it," Tikki replied. "And I'll be here for you too. Always."

"Thanks, Tikki. But... doesn't this technically violate our rule of secrecy? Y'know, the rule of how Kwamis and how they can't ever let their secrets get out?" Marinette asked, tilting her head at the Kwami. "I guess she is still a baby, so she won't even be able to retain this information or remember it." She scratched her chin in ponderment.

"You're right, Marinette. Babies don't keep information, so I can still be with you so long as she's young like this." Tikki's smile started to fall. "But... if we _can't_ get her back, and we have to keep her for longer and longer, I'll have to start hiding. The last thing we need is someone like her exposing your secret to the world."

Of all of the things that Marinette had to go through in her life, she had never been faced with something like this. She'd faced supervillains capable of ending the world, been through the most rigorous of schoolwork and work with her family at the bakery, but none of that could have compared to this; the task of child care.

Just what had she gotten into? What can of worms had been opened before her eyes? How far down this rabbit hole would she fall? As it all stewed around in her head, she could only watch as the baby slumbered softly in her sleep, blissfully unaware of it all.


	2. In Which Marinette Cannot Even

Every second Marinette stared at the sleeping baby in her room seemed like an eternity. So many thoughts danced around in her mind, of this baby's lost parents, of how long she would have to look after her, and how long she would be able to keep this a secret from mom and dad. And what if they found out? How would they react? Knowing them, they would have asked her to find the baby's parents, and then how would she respond? She was just as clueless as to her origin as they would be. And what if the others were to find out about this? Her classmates at College Francois Dupont? How many more layers of pressure would that lay on top of her?

As she tried to find the answers to those questions, she at long last saw the baby's eyes open up. They were a clear shade of olive green, similar to that of Lila. But that was all just a coincidence, after all, eye colours were eye colours. For all she knew, this could still have been anyone's baby. Maybe she was seeing things, yeah, that had to have been it. The sheer thought of seeing a baby in her room must have made her think she was in some kind of dream, or a kind of illusion cooked up by some other villain. She tried to snap herself out of it by slamming her head on the pillar holding her bed up. When she felt the surging pain, Marinette couldn't help but let out a loud yelp of pain, followed by some groans as she rubbed her now aching forehead.

"Oookay... Please tell me that woke me up." Marinette spoke as the pain started to dwindle. She looked back at the baby one more time, to find that it was still there, and now fully awake. "This isn't a dream. We have a real baby in our house, Tikki."

"Yes. We do, Marinette," said Tikki. "Why did you think it was a dream?"

"Oh, I dunno, maybe because of the fact that I'm not even ready for kids yet?!" She splayed her arms out and went into one of her trademark Marinette-brand tirades. "I work at a bakery, go to school, AND I have to be Ladybug! I'm already juggling enough on my plate as it is! You know that I can't raise a baby, Tikki! If mom and dad find out about this, then I'm going to be in so much trouble! We're a family of THREE, not four! And even then, she would have told me if she wanted to have a little brother or sister! And that's only one thing! What if my friends at school or Cat Noir find out about this? What if they find out that I'm raising someone else's child without their consent? They'd think I'm a monster of a person! And what about Adrien? He'd completely shut me out of his life if he found out that I was looking after a baby that wasn't my own! Then those dreams we'd have of being married and having our own kids would be destroyed in an instant!" At the end of it all, she was breathing heavy.

Tikki was about to interject when she and Marinette heard a new sound. It came from the baby again, but this time, instead of tears, it was laughter. The baby was laughing at Marinette's crisis, whether it was intentional or because it found Marinette funny, it was still giggling. This alone was enough to command both Marinette and Tikki's attention fully.

"Y-you... like that?" Marinette limped towards the baby, leaning towards it and tilting her head. Why did she even expect it to answer back at this point? She knew babies were incapable of proper speech. Still, she couldn't help but try, given that she needed some kind of solace in these hard times. "Well, I'm still new at this, but at least I know how to hold one of these." Even though she remembered doing this as Ladybug rather than as Marinette, she still picked up the baby by wrapping her arms around its' body.

Marinette could already feel the warmth of the baby's body against her own as she let it rest in her arms. And, now that she was out of the basket, she could see it fully and properly. It had a diaper around its' bottom, but no other form of clothing apart from that. Its' hair was brunette and still only just sprouting from its' head, and the rest of its' body was tan just like its' face. Marinette tried to look in the basket for something else that she could do with the child, but nothing other than the blanket could be found in it.

"Tikki... what do I do now?" Marinette asked, turning to the Kwami. "I'm not ready for this... I've only just gone and plucked a baby out of a basket that was left on my doorstep, and mom and dad are gonna be home any minute!" She whisper-yelled. "What do I do?"

"Well... I think you should..." Tikki was at a loss for words as well. She had known that humans had babies themselves, but the rest of the details were up in the air for her. After all, she was only bound to this plain of existence because of a pair of earrings. Every other second of her life, she spent in another ethereal plane with fellow Kwamis, so she didn't have the time or knowledge to know how to care for babies. But then, she started to notice that the baby coiled its' arms inward to its chest. "It looks kind of cold, don't you think?"

"Cold?" Marinette turned back to see the child. "Oh, yeah. It is kind of chilly in here. I guess it's only warm because of the blanket it came here in." Marinette hadn't been bothered much by the cold. She had learned to handle it. Paris wasn't exactly well-known for its' sweltering heat and sunbathing locals. She looked down at the blanket, and then at the baby. "Tikki? Could you, uh, get this for me?"

"Of course, Marinette." Tikki gave a nod, then swooped down and picked up the blanket with her stubby little paws, curling herself around the baby to wrap it back up in the pink cloth once more. It wasn't exactly a tight cocoon, but it was close enough so that it could hold the baby steady. "You're welcome."

"Thanks, Tikki." Marinette sat herself down by the sofa, looking down into the eyes of the baby, who snuggled up in the warmth of the blanket. "But I think we're both still way in over our heads with this. How are we supposed to handle a child that's not even mine? With no way to find out who the parents of the baby are?"

"At the moment, it does seem a bit bleak, but I know you, Marinette. You've _always_ known how to make the best out of a bad situation," said Tikki. "You've done it many times before as yourself and when you were Ladybug, so I'm sure that you'll be able to do the same here with this baby."

"Yeah, but those were all teenage things. Stuff about Adrien or my friends, or having to save the world from some maniac dressed up in purple with an unhealthy obsession for butterflies..." Marinette chided, she was not being moved in the slightest by Tikki's words. "This is seriously next-level. I have an actual baby. An infant. Someone who doesn't even look a year old, and I'm supposed to just look after them? With no way to figure out where they came from or anything like that?"

"Marinette. You can do this. You really can. If you can save the day and survive school life and work with your family, then I'm sure that you can handle raising a baby." Tikki used her paws to gesture the words, which seemed to get the baby's attention. "After all, what's the worst that could—"

Before Tikki could even finish the sentence, she was grabbed by the baby and put into its' mouth. It began to suckle on Tikki, thinking that it was a pacifier. This caused Marinette to lurch in surprise and put down the baby as fast as she could, before pulling Tikki out of its' mouth. She could already feel the drool on Tikki's head as a result.

" **EEEWWWWWW!** " Tikki despaired so loud that it was impossible for either of them to have heard it. "That was revolting!"

"Tikki. I'm so sorry about that..." Marinette hurried off to find something to clean Tikki with, which caused the Kwami to race off after her as she saw the hand of the baby come back towards her. She was not about to get coated in baby spit again. "Here." Marinette procured a tissue and started to wipe Tikki down with it, getting the drool off. "That feel better?"

"Y-yeah, Marinette." Tikki weakly nodded. "But I think it's safe to say that I don't ever want to go through that again."

Marinette took another look at the baby, with arms out of the blanket. It was trying to move around the room, see what there was to see. As it got close to the edge, Marinette immediately leapt into action and picked up the baby, just as it jammed its' arm down the edge of the sofa and began to tumble off.

"It's awfully playful, I'll give it that," said Marinette as she tried to lower down the baby as it reached up to grab at her face. "And I don't really have anything for it to play _with._ "

"Nothing a shopping trip won't fix, right?" Tikki replied.

"Or, I could rummage through my family's old memory boxes. I'm sure there's bound to be some things from when I was a baby that she could use..." Marinette didn't even remember a single fragment about her infancy, other than the stories that mom and dad used to tell her, coupled with the pictures that they would show her. "I just hope I have enough time to find something she'd like."

"She?" Tikki raised both of her arms.

"The baby's _definitely_ a girl, that much I can make out. Do you ever think baby boys associate themselves with the colour pink?" Marinette cocked a brow. "And it does sound a lot like a girl. I'd check... but there's a reason why babies have to wear diapers, you know." Using her foot, Marinette opened the hatch and began carrying the baby out of her room again.

As Marinette went out of the room, she went down the stairs towards the back door, then down another corridor to the basement, all the while, she was accompanied by the sound of babbling coming from the baby in her arms. She had Tikki open the door to the basement for her, but used her foot to turn on the lights. How she didn't end up falling over was a miracle in itself, given her general clumsy disposition when she wasn't suited up.

The lights flickered on and the basement was illuminated for all to see. They were the only source of light for the entire room, leaving lots of shadows stretching out from the objects around. There were boxes aplenty for Marinette and Tikki to search through, as most of it was the stock that they needed for their bakery products. The rest of it, however, was old stuff that they had since locked away and hadn't touched since. Marinette mentally thanked her parents for keeping these items down here for all this time. Now, all that she needed to worry about spending her money on were supplies for the baby in the case that she had to care for it in the long-term. Just as a precaution, not a definitive.

"Hey, Tikki. I'm curious about something," said Marinette to break up the semi-silence. "Do... Kwamis ever have a childhood? Like, is there a thing where there are Kwami babies? Or do you always just start out as what you are?"

"No, Marinette. As long as I've rememebered, Kwamis have always started out as their default forms since their inception. There's not a single known record of us Kwamis progressing bodily." Tikki shook her head. "And if there actually is, then just like you and this little one here, then I can't remember any of it. And neither can Plagg or any of the other Kwamis for that matter."

"Figures. It would make the most sense, since you're mythical beings and all. You're not born like us humans are." Marinette shook her head as she went over to a set of boxes that looked promising to her. "See, with us humans, we have to be born by a loving mother and caring father. The details are a bit messy, but when people have a baby, they start out as... well, babies. Then, they grow up slowly but surely to a toddler, then a little kid, then a teenager like me, a young adult, and eventually into a full adult. It takes a lot of time, but I'm sure it's nothing compared to all the time you've had to be alive, right?"

"Yeah. We Kwamis live for millenia. There's a lot that we see and remember in those years; some memories even dating back to prehistoric times." Tikki looked into the baby's eyes as Marinette laid her on top of a nearby table. Her eyes focused on the smile of the child, mostly invoked to the fact that she was seeing and beholding a mythical fairy creature that she would never remember. "Still, I bet it must be fun to be like that."

"As a baby, you don't remember anything, you're easily impressed, and nobody can ever blame you for the mischief that you get up to. They do nothing but play, eat, and sleep, with everyone else serving them without question. And they don't even remember any of it when they grow up." Marinette opened a box at last and regained her own smile. "Yes. Here it is, Tikki. My old memory box from when I was a baby."

Inside the box, there were a bunch of old items from Marinette's infancy, most of which she had forgotten even existed. There were a lot of toys in there mostly, inlcuding some blocks, a rattle, and a very dusty rubber ball. There were also some very tiny clothes and another blanket. The rest of the items were submerged underneath. With the prizes in sight, Marinette closed up the box and picked it up. But then, another issue presented itself. How would she be able to carry this box all the way back up to the room AND handle the baby at the same time? She couldn't leave it unattented for even a moment, lest the worst were to happen.

It was all just a balancing act, right? Marinette picked up the still-nameless baby girl and put her on top of the box. Now, she just had to hope that her balancing skills were on point. She had some practice in the past, but now she was actually carrying the life of another person as well. Deep breaths, she told herself. She reminded herself that she had been in way more precarious situations than this both as Marinette Dupain-Cheng and as Ladybug. With some shred of confidence, she walked out of the basement, carrying both the box and the baby with her.

"You've got this, Marinette. You've got this." She finally spoke again as she emerged to the ground floor of the house. She went back up the flight of stairs and returned to her family's living room/kitchen. That was the easy part. Now came the hard bit. She put the box and baby down on the table, then took the baby back into her hands. She went up the ladder to her room and laid the baby back in the basket, cocooning it tight in the blanket so that it couldn't escape. "Now, hold still for just a moment. I'll be back shortly," she told it, before sliding down the ladder and collecting the box. Marinette found this part much harder, as she couldn'tlay her hands on the steps or arch herself forward so that she could keep her balance. Instead, she just had to hold the box up above her head and make sure that it didn't spill out the contents. When she was up enough of the stairs, Marinette finally planted the box on the ground and pushed it in, before reclimbing the ladder once more.

When Marinette finally poked her head back up over the box to see what was going on, she could already see that the baby had broken free of the cocoon's clutches and was about to repeat its' efforts of going over the edge. Marinette tried to catch it, but inadvertently tripped over the box, landing on her belly. She still splayed her arms forward and managed to catch the baby, breaking its' fall and preventing any serious damage.

"This is _not going to be easy..._ " Marinette groaned as she felt the baby shuffling off of her hands.

"Well, at least, you've got some things to keep it occupied now, Marinette," said Tikki, floating over Marinette's head. "So I guess that takes some of the pressure off."

"Y-yeah." Marinette pulled herself off of the ground once again and watched the baby crawling over towards the chair by the desk. Marinette went over and plucked the baby off of the ground and put it back in the basket again. The last thing that she wanted was for her room to be made a mess of. "Still, this has to be some kind of coincidence, right?"

"Why do you say that, Marinette?" Tikki questioned, landing on Marinette's shoulders.

"I mean, think about it, Tikki. We _just_ defeated a villain who turned people into babies, and now, all of a sudden, I have a **real** baby in my house right now that we just so have to care for unless we can find their parents by some sheer miracle." Marinette turned her head towards Tikki. "Think about the correllation between those two for a second. It's very suspicious, isn't it?"

"I... suppose?" Tikki couldn't find the connection herself. After all, everything turned back to normal when the Miraculous Ladybugs were invoked after every time they won against one of Hawkmoth's villains. "I'm still leaning towards it being a coincidence myself."

"Still, there's so many questions that I think we all need some answers to." Marinette went over to the box and started pulling out some of the toys inside. "But one thing at a time, right? And the quicker that we can get this little one under control, the better we can think about how to move forward with this." She got rid of the dust and laid them down with the baby, who curiously reached towards them and let her hands do all of the examining.

The first toy that she used was the ball from earlier. It was a bright shade of pink, with blue waves and dots rolling across the middle. The rubber collapsed under the pressure of the baby's fingers, but quickly snapped back to its' proper, spehrical form when the baby dropped it down onto its' knees. Cooing, she reached for it and rolled it around in her hands, taken in by how the colour seemed to move as she moved the ball. It giggled once more and found itself completely entranced by the ball; the other toys might as well not ahve been there with how much it seemed to be enjoying itself with the toy.

The sweet moment was broken up by the sound of Marinette's phone ringing. She hastily lurched for it and answered the call, which brought up a video chat of Alya, Rose, Mylene, Juleka, and Alix.

"Hey, girl! How goes it?" Alya was the first one to talk.

Marinette struggled to find an answer to that question. This was one of the things she did not want to happen today. "Uh... It's... uh, going fine, Alya." She sheepishly replied and let out one of her weak chuckles. "Why do you ask? How's it going for you?"

"Not pretty good, in all honesty. I got myself caught by that latest Akuma villain, so I couldn't document the battle for the Ladyblog." Alya sighed. "Right now, the others are here trying to find the missing pieces on news websites and TV so that I can piece the footage back together and reverse-engineer something for the blog, but so far, it's taking a while."

"You'd think that, given how popular Ladybug and Cat Noir are, that there'd be camera crews and news helicopters all over the place," Alix cut in, showcasing her razor-sharp wit. "Guess it's only for the really big fights that they have."

"Wish you could be here with us, Marinette. You're very good at finding things these days," said Mylene.

"I wish I could be there too, girls, but I've had a long day today and I need some downtime," Marinette replied. "You know how it is, what with me being a fashion designer."

"Of course, girl. Don't let anyone stop you from pursuing your passions; not even us." Juleka finally brought herself into the feed. "That's what Luka always tells me whenever I feel down."

"But we're always going to be there to support you and have your back," Rose chimed in.

"Thanks, girls," said Marinette. "And like I said, I wish I could be there to help, but I'm just busy at the moment. That doesn't mean I won't check out the finished product, that is."

"Great. Can't wait to see what you make of the new entry, girl." Alya fist-pumped. "In the meantime, we're sending you all the best.

Marinette was about to close the call when the baby made a loud squeal that the entire room could have heard, no matter what corner they were sitting in.

"What was that?" Alix was the first one to break the silence.

"What was what?" Marinette's charade fell as she struggled to keep a straight face.

"That wail. You can't have missed that, Marinette." Mylene leaned in closer to the phone. "Is there something going on in your room?"

"What? No, nothing's going on. Just the squeaking of my chair's wheels. They've been needing oil for a while now." She chuckled once again, lying through her teeth, trying to think of any other way that she could steer the conversation.

"Mari. You're not a good liar, girl. Just tell us the truth. If you don't then we'll find out about it eventually." Alya lifted her brow. A reporter always had to know the truth, and she wasn't planning on giving Marinette any leeway. "In fact, I could even come by your house to check if you're not gonna show me."

"N-no! Don't come over! I'm not allowed to show you or anyone else what this is!" Marinette waved her hand as violently as she could in front of the camera.

"Why not? It can't be _that bad_ , can it?" Juleka pulled some hair out of her left eye. "What have you got to worry about, Marinette?"

Marinette looked away for even the slightest of moments and saw that the ball had gone on the floor and that the baby was climbing out of the basket to go and collect it. She screamed internally and, with no time to put the phone down, dashed over towards the baby and once more saved her from that fall she seemed so attracted to. Once more, she dashed over and retrieved the ball, planting it back in the basket. Little did she know that, during the whole ordeal, the camera had still been on, and her friends had just witnessed the whole ordeal.

"Sorry about that. Now, what were you saying?" She asked, looking at her friends, who all gazed at her dumbfoundedly. "What? What is it?"

"Marinette... I... I didn't know you were babysitting someone's kid," Alya was the first one to recompose herself. "Sorry about disturbing you. If you need some alone time with the kid, I totally get it."

"Who's baby is it? Does she have a name?" Rose spoke after that. "Is she a cutie?"

"Well... actually, that's the thing, Rose." Marinette felt defeated as she panned the camera over towards the baby. "I found this baby at my doorstep, all alone. It was in a basket, with no contact details or way to trace it back to its' parents. It's a lost baby."

"A lost baby?" Juleka leaned in closer so she could get a better view of the child. "Well... have you tried to talk to the authorities about it? After all, if it's not your child, you should at least try and find out where it came from."

"Yeah, problem with that at the moment. My mom and dad are gonna be home any moment and they've got a big order to fill today; I was told about it this morning." Marinette started explaining as she brought the camera back to her. "They just went out to scope out to get all of the details that they need. It's gonna be all hands on deck. And with this baby and that at the same time, I've got no time to find that out for myself. And it's been very playful today, like, **really playful**. Trying to get out of that basket, climbing me, all kinds of things. If I leave it alone to help mom and dad with that order, it could hurt itself really badly."

"Hmm... sounds like you're in a real tight spot, Mari." Alix put a hand behind her head. "If you want, we could come over. After all, a blog's just a blog. Right, Alya?"

"I know, but... my blog..." Alya whimpered, like a dog without its' treats.

"No, no. It's fine, girls. You don't have to worry about my problems. You go and finish up the Ladyblog." Marinette looked into the eyes of her friends. "You've all got your commitments to live up to, and I've got mine. I'll talk when I get a break in my work, okay?"

"But Marinette—" The girls all replied in unison.

"Trust me. I'll be fine. It's only juggling baby care with a massive baking order. Nothing I can't handle, right?" And like that, Marinette ended the phone call, severing the link between her and her girls, leaving her back with the baby and Tikki once again. But as soon as it went, she lost all that confidence again. "Yeah, right. There's no way this is going to work. EVER." Marinette shook her head. "This is a disaster of the highest caliber."

As soon as she said that, she could hear some noises coming from below.

"Marinette! We're home!" said her father, Tom Dupain.

"Almost time to get ready for the order, sweetheart!" said her mother, Sabine Cheng.

"And there's the kicker." Marinette moaned as she looked at the hatch back down to the living room/kitchen. "Well, now it's time to face the music..."

Tikki could only watch as Marinette, with no other options, left the room, leaving her and the baby all alone in it. Tikki took another look back at the baby, watching as her focus now turned from the ball to that of a small purple rattle with a green pattern on it. Each shake made a noise, and that enticed the baby to make more of them, coupled with soft coos then giggle fits after that. Without Marinette to protect it, what was Tikki to do? How would she be able to turn this disaster around?


	3. In Which The Baby Is Discovered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last time that the baby is just going to be called "the baby" just so you know. By the next chapter, a name will be given. But not in the way that you expect it...

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a girl who knew how to handle pressure. Given her other life as Ladybug, she had grown accustomed to high stakes, moments of panic, and general chaos in her life. Most of her pressure management had come from her experiences, the consequences for failure, and her general haphazard nature and clumsiness. That being said, this was far beyond anything she had ever faced in her life.

She could handle baking jobs, that much was for sure. Being raised by a mother and a father in a succeeding bakery in Paris had taught her well. But that wasn't the issue that she was facing. The real problems that she had stewing in her mind related to the baby back in her room. All alone with a Kwami that she shouldn't even be allowed to see or remember, in a room that wasn't well-equipped to handle infants, and given the fact that any loud noises it made would have exposed her to Tom and Sabine, Marinette couldn't help but think of the worst.

That being said, there was no way that Marinette could weasel her way out of this one. The specifications of the order were too much for there to be a single hand idle in the Dupain-Cheng establishment. A wedding was on the horizon and a cake had been commissioned for the event. They had to follow the details perfectly and finish it within the day. If a single thing went wrong, they would have to completely forego anything and everything else if they had any chance of redoing it.

The first thing that the family of French bakers found themselves fixing up was the actual batter for the cake. This was one of the easier steps of the process, but the rest of it required finesse. In this area, Marinette shined brighter than anything else in her day-to-day life as a civilian. Eggs, sugar, milk, butter, and a couple of extracts all came together in a large bowl and was stirred together well.

During the ordeal, Marinette kept looking up at the ceiling, to see if there was any noise coming from her room. It was a couple of layers up, but the wailing of the baby would still have been enough if it did get agitated. Her paranoia of the baby's noise getting the attention of her parents almost derailed the experience, as she nearly ended up spilling some of the cake mixture out of the bowl and just managed to catch it and get it under control multiple times.

"Is something wrong, Marinette?" Sabine asked, looking at the distraught teenager.

"Wh-what do you mean, mom?" Marinette turned to face her mother, giving a lame chuckle as she tried to show some form of control.

"You seem tense, and you didn't sound like you were happy about something," Sabine could see straight through Marinette's composure. "What's the matter, dear?"

"Nothing's the matter, mom. Nothing at all." Marinette smiled on the outside, but still could not keep herself together on the inside. _Just play it cool, Marinette. Don't let her know about the baby. The last thing we need is mom and dad freaking out about a new mouth to feed..._

"That's not very convincing, Marinette." Sabine laid a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "If you have something that you want to say, then just say it. Nothing you do or say to us could make us angry if it comes from you."

"Look. It's nothing, alright? I'm just a little bit off today." Marinette knew that if she tried to keep the conversation going, she would only be wasting time and drawing more suspicion. "Let's just get back to work. This is a big order to fill, you know."

"I know that, but still, you're our daughter, Marinette." Sabine kept talking, even as she turned back to her own work. "If you're not happy about something, you need to let us know about it."

"The last thing we want is for Hawkmoth to come crashing down on you because of some pent-up worries going on inside your head. It'd break our heart to see our little angel turned evil like that." Tom spoke up, and Marinette felt his words reach her mind. "Still, we can't just think about that now, can we? Thinking of the worst only makes it happen. Just leave it aside and think happy thoughts, I say."

"Since when have you ever said that, dad?" Marinette chuckled lightly to herself.

"Just now, sweetheart." Tom had caught Marinette's laugh and grinned himself.

Marinette laughed again, this time, more audible for the others to hear. Maybe her dad was right. She had only been thinking of the worst and not the best of the situation at hand. She had no way of telling for sure what could happen with a baby in her room. For all she knew, it could have been the most well-behaved, docile baby she had known. And besides, it wasn't entirely alone up there. It had Tikki to keep her company. And Marinette trusted Tikki very well since she had first become her Kwami, so handling a stray baby while she was working was the perfect job to leave to her. Tikki's colours, fairy-like nature, and other attributes alone would have been enough to entertain and capture the attention of the baby.

* * *

Tikki's job, on the other hand, was entirely different. She had to make sure that the baby was properly calm and happy, so that she didn't disrupt the cooking going on downstairs. To begin with, the job didn't seem so bad, as the baby was so distracted by the toys by her side that Tikki might as well have not had been there. With every shake, chew, and gurgle, it seemed like the baby had become completely stationary in that blanket-topped basket.

Then, it got out. Climbing out of the basket, it made one more attempt to crawl off of the side and this time, Tikki could only barely keep her from landing hardly. She zipped down and used all of her strength to push the baby up and reduce the fall's impact. If Kwamis had a bodybuilding competition, Tikki would have been a viable competitor for at least one of the ranks as her body was flattened under the baby's chubby belly when it landed.

It started to crawl away, giving Tikki the opportunity to fly out and get her shape back. But that only prompted the next little issue. Now, the baby was crawling around Marinette's room and could have tugged on anything it could lay its' hands on. Tikki had never been one to panic, but this was a pretty good time for it, given how little she knew about how the baby would behave.

"Oh dear... what kind of trouble have I gotten myself into now?" Tikki asked as she flew closely behind the travelling baby so that she wouldn't see her, but still be able to keep her under control. "First, I get used as a living pacifier, now I've gotta make sure this baby doesn't cause Marinette some trouble. The things I do for my masters..." She muttered to herself. "Well, at least this one's just a regular baby. And Marinette will be back soon, I hope."

That being said, Tikki saw that the baby was moving towards a modelling mannequin. One that Marinette had used time and again to display some of the fashion items that she had made. The baby tried to climb up it, using her tiny hands to grip the rails and try to get at the torso of the mannequin, which prompted the Kwami to take action.

"No! Get off of that!" Tikki groaned as she tried to pull the baby off of the mannequin. It was one of the toughest things she had to have pulled in her life, and even the strongest of yanks she made weren't enough to pry the baby off of it. "That's Marinette's mannequin! Not yours!"

The baby didn't listen to Tikki or understand her for that matter and continued her climb. Each and every shaky step she made caused the mannequin itself to shake. But that didn't deter her from climbing it all the way to the torso, causing the entire thing to tip over. As it started to fall, Tikki hastily rushed behind the mannequin and threw herself down at the rising base. With enough force, she was able to properly stop the mannequin from falling over. The sudden jerking dislodged the baby and she landed on her diaper on the floor.

The baby was shaken by the sudden movement. Her lips started to quiver and her hands began to shake. She had not been expected such sudden movement. She felt some tears begin to form in her eyes, feeling rather upset by how out of the blue it had all been. She made some small whines and was about to start moaning, only for Tikki to fly in front of her face and capture her eyes once again.

"Look, I know that you're a baby and that you don't understand it, but this isn't your room. And that is Marinette's property, not yours," said Tikki. "You shouldn't touch it if it's not yours, you don't know what kind of dama—"

The baby grabbed Tikki again during her little talk, then put her in her mouth again, using her as a pacifier once again, even though she didn't have the right shape for it. Immediately, she could feel the sadness melt away. Even as Tikki once again tried to push herself out of the baby's mouth, she just pushed her back in and continued. It was only because she laughed that Tikki was able to escape again.

"Okay, first of all, stop that! I'm not a pacifier! I'm a Kwami! There is a difference, you know..." Tikki chided, floating just above the baby's grip so that she wouldn't let herself get grabbed again. "In fact, why am I even telling you this? You won't even remember what I've said after I finish talking."

The baby just laughed again and started to grab and lunge for Tikki again. As the Kwami got away from her, she tried to stand on her legs and jump for the Kwami, but her balance was non-existent and she just tumbled back onto her diapered rear. Regardless, her sorrow was gone and she was just enjoying playing around with Tikki. But while that was all well and good, the noise that she was making was rather loud; loud enough for people two floor below her to hear it.

* * *

Sure enough, Tom, Sabine, and Marinette could indeed hear the sound of upbeat laughter coming from the top floor. It was enough to halt their jobs entirely. Tom and Sabine got defensive. Had someone actually managed to get inside of their house without them knowing? Marinette, on the other hand, already knew exactly what was about to happen.

"What was that?" Tom asked, breaking the silence between the three of them. "Is someone here?"

"How is that possible?" Sabine asked, her back against Tom's. "You **did** remember to lock up after you came home, right, Marinette?"

"Of course I did, mom. You know I do. Every time!" Marinette rebutted.

"Then why is there someone laughing upstairs?" Tom started to walk towards the door. "You hear it too, right, Marinette?"

Marinette was about to try and lie to her parents to try and get them to abandon the idea entirely, but as she tried to talk, the baby just continued to laugh, completely derailing her plans to try and mask the noise as her own. "Y-yeah... I hear it alright." Defeated, she hung her head. "We should... probably go and check it out."

"You're right. We should all go." Sabine took Marinette's hand and lead her out of the kitchen. It was only then that she noticed the frown on Marinette's face. "Come on, sweetie. We'll be fine. It's nothing that we can't handle, right?"

"Alright, mom." Marinette shyly replied, but knew that they wouldn't be able to handle another baby in the family.

Everyone left the room behind and walked up the stairs, the noise getting louder and louder with each step that they took. When the Dupain-Chengs finally came to the living room/kitchen upstairs, they could hear the noise quite clearly now.

"Hello? Is anybody up there?" Tom knocked on the hatch leading into Marinette's room.

Tikki, who was on the other side, could only let out a gasp and hide while Tom continued to knock on it.

"I know that you're up there, whoever you are. Don't worry. We just want to talk with you. Then, we'll send you on your way," he said. Then, he grabbed the hatch and pulled it open, making the ladder up to Marinette's room fold out and collide with the ground. "Come on, honey. You too, Marinette." Tom turned back to Sabine and Marinette.

 _Dear god, my name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and I beg for your mercy as to what's about to happen to me..._ Marinette watched as Tom went up the ladder first, poking his head into the room. Followed afterwards by Sabine, and then finally, it was her turn to climb up. _My mom and dad are about to find a baby in my room, they are going to be shocked at the sight of it, and they are going to think that I've taken someone else's child. I will return it, but I have no clue where the parents are and we have that order to fill, so am stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment. If you're hearing this, then please have mercy upon me, Marinette Dupain-Cheng._

The first thing that everyone could see when they entered the room was that of the baby, who looked into all three pairs of eyes blankly. Then, she turned to Marinette's and squealed, before crawling over and reaching up for her.

"Marinette… this is..." Sabine watched as Marinette reached down and picked up the baby, holding her gently in her hands.

"A baby?" Tom finished the line for her.

"Y-yeah..." Marinette held the baby close to her chest, feeling her snuggle into her belly.

"You didn't tell me that you were babysitting for someone else today, dear," Sabine replied as she watched Marinette hold the infant. "In fact... why are you babysitting for someone else? You know how big the job is today, right?"

"I do. And... see, that's the odd thing about this," Marinette took a big gulp. One that both Tom and Sabine could see clear as day. They knew that Marinette was about to drop a complicated truth. "See, this baby **isn't** a babysitting job I've got. I found it at the door of our house in a basket. There weren't any parents, no contact information, no name, no anything. I couldn't just leave it out there, could I?"

"What?" Both Tom and Sabine replied together.

"I knew you would react like this." Marinette shook her head. "This is _exactly what I wanted to avoid_. At least, until I knew who I could give her back to. After all, she's not our child, so we shouldn't raise someone who isn't our own, right?"

"Oh, Marinette…" Sabine, being the ever so kind mother that she was, just reached over Marinette and gave her a pat on the back. "You know, you shouldn't have to keep these things from us. No matter how big they are."

"I know that we've got the order, but I can't just leave a baby all alone like that. It's just inhumane." Marinette watched as the baby squirmed around in her hold. "Oh, this is a can of worms in itself. I can't leave the baby alone in this room, and I can't just abandon the order. And I've no clue who the parents are and who I should give her back to if indeed there is someone to give her back to. I'm trapped, mom and dad. I'm royally trapped."

Tom and Sabine were still trying to take in all of the details. Of the idea of another child in the family, found by Marinette. They could see more than anything else just the amount of complications that this would cause. The time it would take to care for her, the hoops they would have to jump for, and the uncertainty of how long they would be able to care for her. And then, they came to Marinette, the girl who had been made to bottle everything up from them and just how much she had been shaken to the core by this development. It was a rough position for her most out of all of them, given how much they knew about Marinette's turbulent life. And they were still unaware of how much more frantic it was because she was secretly Ladybug.

"Marinette…" Sabine finally took the time to speak. "I understand how much you feel about this. Given how complicated it all is, I think you should take some time off."

"Time off?" Marinette blinked. "What do you mean, mom?"

"You need to clear your head a little. I can see just how stressed out you are by this. About a baby with no clue as to who the parents are. But stressing about it is only going to make you feel even worse," Sabine told Marinette. "Take my advice. Go outside with this baby and get yourselves some air. You look like you need it."

"Outside, but the o—"

"We'll hold down the fort until you get back, Marinette," Tom quickly cut into Marinette's rebuttal by planting one of his hands on her shoulder. "You're in no condition to work at the moment, given how upset you are by this. Go outside and calm down, then come back when you've cleared your mind."

"And, if you can find out something about the baby, then let us know. We'll see what we can do from there," Sabine added.

As much as Marinette wanted to contest her parents, they were the ones who raised her to be an upstanding daughter. And she wasn't about to disobey them for the sake of an order. Work was important to her, but the lives of others and the whim of her mother and father came first. "Well... alright then. But you're gonna have to promise me that you work extra hard to get that cake finished in time. We don't want to let the client down, do we?"

"Don't worry about us. That'll only add to your problems. We'll be fine." Tom pulled Sabine in close to his side. "You just go outside. Take all the time you need to compose yourself, then come on back and you can help us out then."

"It's for your own good. And for the good of that little one right there." Sabine pointed the baby, who was now trying to grab and claw at Marinette's face. "Now go on, get outside and cool off."

"If you say so, mom and dad." Marinette put the baby back into the basket and carried her back down the stairs, leaving the room behind. As she walked out of the house with the basket in hand, she could only share gazes with the still nameless baby. At least now, free from the work, she could at least think about how to handle her and what steps she needed to take next. Still, with no parents or any names to go on, Marinette was still years away from figuring out who this baby was, or rather, who the parents of the baby were...


	4. In Which Marinette Goes Outside And Tries To Make Sense of Childcare

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was still flustered about the whole thing. First, she found a baby on her doorstep. Next, she couldn't even figure out who's baby it was. Then, she was completely exonerated from the order that she had been put in and now she was outside with a baby in a basket in her hands. She had dealt with her fair share of shocks and surprises in her life, but this was an entirely new rabbit hole she was wandering down, as well as the streets of Paris. Even though they were just as appealing as ever, they couldn't take her mind off of the issue.

"This is, without a doubt, bar none, not counting any other day in my life, the absolute CRAZIEST thing I have ever had to go through!" Marinette said to herself. Though, who was she kidding? Every day was pretty hectic given her secret other life and the things that she had seen. She made her way towards a nearby park with green shrubs and benches.

"Well, it's only crazy because you're panicking about it, Marinette," Tikki said from her purse. "I mean, think about the positives about this. You did a really good job of being a caretaker so far."

"I know, Tikki. But this is only just the start of it and I've barely had the baby for more than twenty minutes! What if she needs food? Do I look like the kind of person who has baby food on them when I'm a teenage girl? Or even worse. What if she needs..." She let out a gasp. "A diaper change?"

Tikki's eyes widened. "Oh... yeah, that is gonna be an issue."

"If she poops of wets herself, how am I gonna be able to clean it up? She's gonna cause an absolute riot, Tikki!" Marinette splayed her arm out. "I can't deal with this. I just can't deal with this!"

"Marinette! Get a hold of yourself!" Tikki bellowed. If she could, she would have slapped Marinette across the face. But then, that would have caused any passersby to notice that there was a magical flying bug creature in Paris. "You're gonna raise your stress levels talking like that! And then Hawkmoth's going to Akumatise you! Remain calm! There is ALWAYS a solution to a problem!"

Marinette just stood there. She had never been scolded by Tikki. Oh, she was such an idiot for losing herself in the surge of problems with baby care. Just another one of her large list of screw-ups and missed opportunities. Dejected, she remained silent for a moment, until she could hear the baby laughing again at her silly shenanigans. Marinette turned her gaze to the giggling baby and felt some sense of solace looking at the bright smile on her face; the pure unabridged joy that she was feeling. At least that made one of them.

"Now, Marinette. Your parents sent you out here to figure this out. And, if for some reason, our little baby needs a change, you are going to calmly and quietly go to the nearest store you can find that sells diapers, you are going to purchase those diapers, and you are going to change her," Tikki told her. "If there's food, you'd also be wise to take some of that as well. Better safe than sorry, after all."

"You're right, Tikki. The issues of now outweigh the issues of the future. I need to make sure that this baby is properly kept until I can find her parents," Marinette spoke with a tiny shred of confidence still in her voice, though it was all still unconvinced and unmoved by her Kwami's words. "Oh, but there's still so much to do. I need to find her parents, I need to make sure she doesn't completely melt down, I need to keep her fed, and that's all while I'm still a student juggling life as a superhero on top of that. If there was a place in the dictionary for put upon, I guarantee you that a picture of me would appear right next to—"

In the middle of her little tirade, Marinette had bumped into someone. With brown skin and black flat top hairstyle, and a pair of glasses. He wore a green shirt and a pair of suspenders that coiled around his arms. This was Max, the smartest kid in her class at school.

"Oh! Sorry about that, Max." Marinette awkwardly backed up a couple of steps. "I didn't see you there."

"That's perfectly alright, Marinette. Many people get deep in a train of thought lose sense of their surroundings," Max politely said. Then, his eyes drifted from Marinette to the baby in her hands. "Oh? Is that—"

"Yes, Max. It's a baby. And the details about how I got it are very sketchy." Marinette raised a hand to his face. "Needless to say, I am not in the best of moods today. I've been a TOTAL WRECK about this."

"Why so? I thought I heard correctly from your friends that you were a fine babysitter, as your past experiences with Manon and Chris seemed to prove," Max lifted a brow at the child. "I suppose this _is_ a new dimension of the venture, seeing as how Manon and Chris were substantially older. Though, not by a wide margin."

"Look, Max. This isn't some babysitting job that I'm doing for someone, alright? I found this baby on my doorstep! There was no contact details, no notes, no anything!" Marinette's body jerked and shook with each moment, as was custom with her usual Marinette Dupain-Cheng-trademarked freakouts. If there was a patent for her panic attacks, she would have applied for it. "So, as it stands, I am a teenager who goes to school, has parents who are too busy to raise babies, and I have a baby living in my house until I can find her mom and dad!" After which, Marinette stood there, breathing as heavily as she could. This just left Max awestruck. Once she'd breathed enough, she cleared her throat and said, "Sorry. I'm just a eensy-weensy bit stressed at the moment."

"Hold on. Go back a second, Marinette." Max pushed his glasses closer to his face as he looked at the baby, who was still just grinning at Marinette's misfortune. "So there were no details about the child anywhere?"

"No. There wasn't." Marinette shook her head.

"Hmm... well, that is a bit of a pickle, isn't it?" Max put his fingers to his chin and scratched it. After all, how could there be a baby with no details about who their parents were? How would they be able to find the parents if there was no way to contact them or to decipher who the mother and father were? But then, Max realised. He was a scientist. A young one, admittedly, but still a practitioner of it. "Tell you what, Marinette. Why don't I give you a hand with this?" Max replied.

"Huh?" Marinette just blinked and tilted her head. "What do you mean, Max?"

"I'm not well-versed in the art of childcare, but I have been researching DNA." Max pushed his hands together, causing small cracking noises to come from the joints. "If I could get a sample of that baby's DNA, then I could be able to analyse who it is and determine who she is. Then, your problem in finding the parents will be solved."

"R-really?" Marinette's eyes lit up. "You can do that?"

"Of course I can." Max reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of tweezers and a small, empty container. "A strand of hair would be enough for me. I can trace back her origins through that. Do you... think you could pluck a hair from the baby for me?"

"Here? Right now?" Marinette asked. "But I don't really have anything that can—"

"Say no more, Marinette. I always come prepared for this sort of occasion." Max pulled out a swiss army knife and pulled out one of the compartments. It resembled that of a tiny pair of scissors. "Just set her down gently and I should be able to do the rest for you." He looked at Marinette, who was still stunned by the fact that Max was this prepared for just such a scenario. "What?" He asked, then chuckled lightly. "It always helps to be prepared for anything, you know."

"R-right..." Marinette just rolled her eyes and made it towards a patch of grass. She set the basket down and picked the baby out of it. It made a few coos as she was lifted out of the wicker and into Marinette's lap. "Just a single strand, right?"

"Yes. Just one strand should do it." Max used the tweezers to hold the hair up, then the tiny scissors of the swiss army knife to chop the hair off. The sudden jolt caused the baby to wince. She was on the verge of crying when Marinette just pulled her towards her. The sight of her current guardian was enough to stop her from crying there and then. "There we go." Max said to himself as he took the strand and put it into the container, sealing it tight. "I'll see what I can do when I get home. When I have the answer, I'll call you straight away with the information you need."

"Thank you, Max. You're a real lifesaver!" Marinette got a big smile on her face as she put the baby back into the basket and gave Max a big hug, causing him to blush a very bright shade of red at each cheek. After the hug came to an end, Marinette picked up the basket again.

"I do what I can," Max, still with his blush put his implements away. "Anyways, you should do your best to keep the baby happy and healthy, Marinette. She's only as good as the person who keeps her safe, after all."

"I'll do my best. In the meantime, I hope you find those results soon." Marinette gave him a wave and walked off. "Goodbye, Max!"

"See you soon, Marinette!" He called back, before going off on his own merry little way soon enough.

"Did you hear that? We're gonna find mama and dada soon!" Marinette turned her focus to the baby, giving her a real smile; and not one brought on by strange circumstances. "Just think; or whatever babies do. You'll be with your real parents soon, and you'll be able to play all the games you want, you'll be fed when you want it, and that little diaper of yours is always gonna be checked and changed if needed. And you won't have to worry about me doing a lousy job of being a caretaker anymore!"

The baby just made more laughter as she was carried around by Marinette.

Marinette found her way to a bench and sat down. It was the biggest respite she had taken all day. She now knew that this baby was gonna be found soon enough. And that alone was enough to raise a lot of the tension off of her plight. She picked the baby out of the basket again and sat with her in the warmth of the sun. The golden rays of light streaking down from a clear sky. The chatter and vehicles around her, coupled with the sound of kids playing on the grass was soothing to say the least. Marinette let out a sigh of relief as she let the baby sit on her and take in the sight. She wouldn't remember it, but it was still going to live in the moment.

"Lovely day out, isn't it?" A woman came along with a pushchair and sat down next to Marinette. There wasn't much to say about her other than the fact she had her own baby. She had gold hair that had been combed downwards and a green coat with a white collar.

"Yeah, it is." Marinette turned to face the newcomer. "Out for a walk with your kid as well?"

"Oh yes," she nodded. "And I just thought that this would be the perfect place for some rest. Having a baby isn't easy you know." She then heard some whines and pulled her child out of the chair. "Okay, August. Okay. Mama's here." Her baby, who was brown in skintone wore a purple and white outfit, and had what looked like a shaved head

"August? That's a nice name." Marinette locked gazes with August. "Hey there." She gave a miniscule wave to it. August didn't respond with words, as she had expected, but rather with that of unintelligible babbles.

"It is. Wish I could say the same for the rest. Things were never the same after Hawkmoth decided to lay his eyes on my child, and turn her against Ladybug and Cat Noir..." The woman cradled August, gently brushing his hair with her hands.

"Hawkmoth?" Marinette had vivid memories of that day. Now it all came flooding back to her. Gigantitan. She had never really had time to get to know who the boy really was underneath the Akuma until now. "Well... I'm sorry that you had to go through that. It must have been awful."

"Oh, it was. Definitely. Every second, I was worried not just for her safety, but for everyone else's. It didn't help much that Hawkmoth went after her two more times, and then some peacock lady threw a feather at her to make some giant... monster." The woman felt her hands shiver as she recounted each of the other attacks. "Will that madman ever learn to leave children out of this? Does his evil know no bounds?"

"No. But I know that Ladybug and Cat Noir are gonna be able to bring him to justice one day soon. But until then... all we can do is wait. Wait until they save the day and put Hawkmoth's Miraculous away for good." Marinette then felt her baby wriggling, reaching out for August. "Huh? What is it?"

"Looks like she wants to play. It's only natural, after all. Like attracts like," the woman said, as she let August get closer to Marinette's child. She and Marinette watched as both babies tilted their heads at each other and reached their hands out to one another. Both of their tiny palms touched, and they couldn't help but share a small snicker with each other. "Ever since the attacks, I've had to keep August at home. Even now, having her out makes her a liability if I can't keep her happy, given Hawkmoth and that peacock girl of his have attacked him four times now."

"What's your name, by the way?" Marinette asked, leaning in to the woman.

"Mine?" She placed her fingertips to her chest. "Well, my name is Summer. Summer Madriéla."

"And that makes your child August Madriéla. Very poetic, I have to say." Marinette smiled as she observed her child and August playing what looked like an unattended version of pattycake.

"Mmm." Summer smiled again. "And what's your name?"

"I'm Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng." She clasped her hands together.

"Dupain-Cheng? Oh! You're Tom and Sabine's child?" Summer asked. "That's nice to hear. You know, I used to go to your parents bakery a lot. They make some of the finest cakes, loaves, and macarons this side of Paris."

"Yeah. Mom and dad work really hard to make sure everyone who walks into those doors comes out happy. And with me taking up the helm, it makes their job somewhat easier," Marinette said humbly. She didn't want to boast about her parents' work, given how she was just a simple girl. But she couldn't help but relish in some of the praise.

"And who's your little one?" Summer asked, pointing towards Marinette's baby.

"Oh! Well, that's... uh..." Marinette was in a panic situation. Summer wanted a name for the baby, and Marinette didn't even know who it came from. At least she knew that Max was working as hard as ever to find out who she was, but still, she needed a temporary name until the results came in. Digging through her mind, she finally said, "It's Lulu. Lulu Dupain-Cheng." After she said it, she let out another internal scream. You're not supposed to name a baby you don't know. After all, once you name it, you start getting attached to it! Okay, note to self, Marinette. Never ever use Monsters. Inc as referential material ever again.

"Lulu? Well, I think it suits her, to be honest." Summer reached over and gave Lulu a gentle pat on the head, causing her to let out some more muted laughter. "Little Lulu Dupain-Cheng. She'll grow up to do great things."

"You think so?" Marinette asked.

"If you raise her right, then I know so." Summer folded her arms. "Children always take after their parents."

"Speaking of raising, I'm gonna be a little bit awkward here and say that I'm not really that prepared for this," Marinette rubbed the back of her head as she plucked Lulu back up. "See, we only got Lulu very recently and none of us are prepared for this. Heck, I don't even have the proper supplies to be raising a baby in the first place. Sure, I've got all the toys she needs, but food and diapers? That's a different story."

"Well, why don't you come with me? I was also going to head over to the shops to restock as well." Summer stood up, lifting August back into the chair. "I'm sure that I can help you out with that."

Marinette didn't think much of her answer as she put Lulu back into the basket. "Sure. I could use all the help right about now."

"Alright then." Summer walked off, pushing the pushchair down the street. Marinette lifted the basket with Lulu in it and followed after her.

* * *

Marinette and Summer's journey took them both to a supermarket. The sign above them said so, in french, "supermarché." Marinette had never really spent much time in a supermarket in her teenage years, especially given that it was much more convenient to order everything online and have it delivered to her house in this modern day and age. The both of them stepped through the automated doors and were greeted by the air conditioning.

The inside of the supermarket was as they had both expected it to be. Solid flooring that looked spotless, green-white wall, hanging lights, and aisles and aisles worth of items for purchase. From produce to magazines, clothes to DVDs and video games, the shop had it all.

"So tell me, how long have you been raising August?" Marinette asked the question as she took a plastic basket; this one belonging to the shop itself.

"Right now, it's seven months. Gonna be eight next week," Summer replied. "It's been a little hectic having her around the house, but all in all, not much else is different."

"And you're sure you're not entirely swamped down with work and all that?" Marinette cocked a brow. "Having a baby and a job can be _very taxing_ , you know."

"Oh, it is. But my husband's there to lend a helping hand whenever I can't. Wonderful man, he is. I should introduce you sometime." Summer took her own basket from the stack and made her way deeper into the establishment.

"Must be real lucky, huh?" Marinette's tone of voice fell as she looked down at Lulu again. "In my family, mom and dad are always working. And I have to go to College Francois Dupont as well. So when you put all those together, we don't really have the manpower needed to look after Lulu. It's a miracle that we're even getting by."

"Oh my. That sounds hard," Summer couldn't help but sympathise with Marinette. Sure, her daughter had been Akumatised before, but Marinette's baby literally had no one to look after her due to work and school. "When you put it like that, it does make me feel a little bit better about what happened. After all, there's always someone who's having a worse day than you are, as the saying goes."

"You can say that again," Marinette somewhat smirked at that remark.

"Anyways, here we are." Summer led Marinette down an aisle full of baby products, tiny clothes to dress Lulu in, food in jars to feed her and plastic bottles to be filled with milk, as well as a few displays that held toys and other such things. "Take whatever you need, Marinette. Then, when you're ready, we can head over to the counter."

Marinette browsed the items on display. She had always thought about buying for a future child. But she had mostly put those plans aside because she wanted to wait for the perfect moment; that being when she was Adrien's girlfriend and eventual wife. To have to buy for Lulu seemed like a shock to the system, as if she wasn't ready for it yet. And why was she still calling her Lulu? She had to return her to her rightful owners. To name an unnamed baby was uncalled for!

"Uh... Hmm..." Marinette hummed and made noises as she took a look at the objects. Randomly, she started plucking out food for the child. "That'll do nicely. And this, to give her more flavour, and a little bit of this as well." Once Marinette had taken the food, she mosied over towards the bottle and picked up the first one that she could find. They mostly looked the same, save for shape, so it didn't take much guesswork. Once it was in the basket, she examined the diapers.

"Does Lulu have any special requirements? Or does she just take normal diapers?" Summer asked.

That question caught Marinette off-guard. "What do you mean by that?" She asked, turning to Summer.

"Certain babies have very delicate skin, so instead of plastic diapers, they prefer cloth," said Summer, taking a pack off of the shelves and loading it into her basket. "Now, luckliy, my Augst isn't one of those babies, but it doesn't hurt to check. After all, Lulu could very easily have discomfort if you change her into one that she's not comfortable in."

"That's the first time I've ever heard of that." Marinette just rolled her eyes as she put a pack of plain diapers into her basket. "Really, it is. It's the first I've ever had to handle the economics of having a baby in the house."

"You'll get the hang of it as time goes on," Summer went to collect her usual essentials. She didn't even need time to think about what she needed, as she just took item after item and placed them into the basket. During which, she heard some whines coming from Augst. "Don't worry, August. We're almost done here," she said to August. Though that didn't stop the noise.

Marinette could only watch as Summer, with confidence and dexterity took everything that she needed, then turned her gaze back to Marinette. The eye-contact was then broken as Lulu made her own little whines and reached up for Marinette's face. "What is it, Lulu?" She asked, looking down at her. Lulu's little fingers just grabbed Marinette's face and played around with her skin. This was enough to freeze Marinette in place and make Lulu chuckle again as she moved Marinette's cheeks, nose, and even her eyelids without a care in the world.

Summer could only have her own little laugh at the sight. "Seems like Lulu's got a way of keeping herself entertained, doesn't she?"

" _You could say that..._ " Marinette deadpanned and rolled her eyes. The sight seemed less serious from Lulu's perspective, as Marinette's face was a complete squishy lump by that point.

"In the meantime, I want to go back on something you said earlier," said Summer as Marinette took her head away from Lulu's little hands. "Your parents work at the bakery and you have to go to College Francois Dupont, right?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" Marinette replied.

"Well, there is this place that I go to every so often when I have to drop August off. It's a lovely little nursery, I bet you that Lulu would love it." Summer pulled out her phone and brought up the details of the site. "I only really use it whenever me and my husband are completely overwhelmed by work. The staff there are very friendly so I don't have to worry about her going sad." She brought up an image of the business in question. "It's called Bud Garden, and it's walk-ins welcome. It's also free of charge for that extra level of convenience."

"A nursery?" Marinette just looked at the sign and name of Bud Garden. "Summer, I appreciate the offer, but—"

"No need to go on, Marinette. From the sound of things, I think you need to take Lulu to this place on your working days. It'll take a load off of you, Tom, and Sabine's minds," said Summer. "Who knows? Maybe I'll see you there someday when you decide to drop her off."

"I suppose it... _would_ be handy." Marinette thought about things some more. She was a baker, a schoolgirl, and an undercover superheroine that had saved Paris multiple times over by this point. And with a baby on top of that, she would have crumbled underneath the pressure. Plus, she needed some form of order around the place. She punched in the information and where to find it, then saved it as a note on her phone. "Alright. Thank you for showing me that, Summer."

"Anything I can do to help." She grinned. "After all, with a baby in your life and a hard workload, it feels SO satisfying to restore some sense of order, doesn't it?"

"Hear, hear." Marinette nodded.

"Well, I think that should be everything." Summer looked down at her goods and Marinette's goods. "Come along, Marinette. Let's head on over to the counter and get these purchased, shall we?"

"Right. Let's go." Marinette nodded, then followed after Summer towards the counters of the supermarket, where tireless clerks were standing by ready to scan items. By their sides were rolls of scratch tickets, and behind them were large sliding doors, where cigarettes lurked behind. She watched as Summer laid down her items and let them be scanned by the man on the other end. Once the job was done, Summer reached into her purse and pulled out a credit card. And that was the moment Marinette chose to look back at Lulu. _What is wrong with me? Why am I naming a baby who's about to be reunited with her parents? Max is already working hard with that little piece of hair that I shouldn't be calling this baby my own! What kind of human am I for doing this?_

"All set." Summer took the receipt and her now-bagged products. "Your turn, Marinette." She stepped aside to let Marinette get close to the counter.

The sudden ability to pay for the goods threw Marinette's thoughts completely out of the window. Brain whiplash got the better of her and she couldn't even talk as she laid down the items to be scanned. First, the diapers. Then the food, and last the bottle. Each and every buzz that came from the scanner sounded like a nail driving its' way through her head. She didn't even look at the bag that the items were being loaded into. When it stopped, she couldn't even focus on the price. When it finally stopped and she examined the price, it didn't feel nearly as unnerving as the fact that she had bought some items she might not have even needed. Still, though, Marinette procured the €7.41 that she owed and paid it out to the clerk.

"Thanks," said Marinette as she watched the items being planted into a bag. She slipped the handles over her arm and moved away from the counter. The already thin handles dug themselves into her arm because of the weight. "Well, looks like that's everything."

"Alright then," said Summer. She left the building and returned to the fresh, unconditioned Parisian air. Marinette was close behind, carrying her basket with Lulu and her bag of items in both hands. "You know what, Marinette? Why don't I accompany you and Lulu back home?"

"I'd like that," Marinette gave a nod. Her eyes shifted between August and then back to Lulu, back and forth. Summer seemed like she had this parenting business under control, while she had only had Lulu for around an hour or so, give or take. "And, uh... I know this probably sounds embarrassing, but... do you have any helpful tips that you could share with me on the way back?"

Summer blinked for a few seconds, but then said, "Oh. Of course, Marinette. I've got a few tricks of the trade that could help you out with Lulu," she said.

Together, Summer and Marinette walked down the streets of Paris; their children quietly mumbling to themselves as they spoke to each other. Summer found it quite comforting to be with Marinette, especially since she was just beginning to understand her plight in comparison to her own. Marinette found Summer to be quite a sweet, caring woman who had more than a few pieces of helpful advice to share with her. Both sides had seen each other before, but those times were when Marinette was Ladybug, so didn't really have time to hang around and talk. Here, when the masks were off and there weren't any Akumas to catch, the simple conversations between Summer and Marinette felt marginally more special, especially given the trials and tribulations of raising Lulu until her parents were found. Perhaps, when all was said and done, maybe Marinette could find Summer again, sit down, and just spend her time talking with her.

* * *

"For real?" Marinette asked as they approached the corner of the Dupain-Cheng Patisserie. "I didn't know that."

"Well, now you do," said Summer. She was about to start another little thread of discussion when she saw the sign. "Oh? Are we back at your place already, Marinette?"

"Y-yeah. Looks like it." Marinette looked at the sign of her family's shop. Even with an abandoned baby in one hand and some baby supplies in the other, the sign and feeling of home still stayed the same. "Thanks, Summer. You've been a great help today."

"Any time, Marinette," Summer watched as Marinette went to the front door. "I'll see you soon then, Marinette. Au revoir!" And with that, she waltzed off down the road.

Marinette casually waved Summer off, then walked back through the door into the bakery again. The first thing that she saw was Tom and Sabine, who had already made the first layer of the wedding cake and were working on another as she came in.

"Marinette! Welcome back, sweetie!" Tom was the first to notice Marinette's entry.

Those words pulled Sabine out of her state of work as she too laid her eyes on Marinette. "So? Do you feel a little bit better now about this?"

"Y-yeah, mom. I'm feeling better." Marinette sheepishly nodded. She had something to fall back on. She knew that Max was working hard to find out who Lulu's parents really were and she had some supplies to keep her fed and properly changed until they could all get in contact with the parents. "Oh! Before you wonder what's in the bag, I did a little bit of shopping. I figured that it might take a while until we find her mom and dad, so I got some things for her."

"Taking the initiative, eh? Just like you, Marinette." Tom would have tousled Marinette's hair if not for the excessive amounts of dough and flour on his hands. "Why don't you leave them upstairs?"

"Then, you can put her to sleep and focus on the cake," Sabine added.

"Sounds great, mom. I was just about to head up there myself, actually. I'll be right back." Marinette skittered past the displays and through the back door. After which, she went up the stairs and back into her room, planting the basket and the bag down on the couch. "Phew..." Marinette wiped some sweat off of her brow as Tikki re-emerged from the purse.

"I'm glad that you're finding a way to manage this, Marinette." Tikki replied as she floated delicately by her side. "See? There's always a silver lining to a bad situation."

"Mmhmm." Marinette gave a tender nod. "I've got Max working on Lulu's real name and family, I've got the supplies that I need to keep Lulu in good condition, and I've got some sense of order back." She sat down on the couch and plucked Lulu out of the basket. "So... until I can find out who you really are and who you belong to, consider yourself part of the family, Lulu." She heard Lulu just make gurgles as she reached her little arms out to Marinette's face again, only this time, Lulu couldn't reach her.

"So, how are you gonna put her to sleep, Marinette?" Tikki asked, narrowly evading Lulu's little hands. She knew that, after two mishaps, she couldn't even afford to stay close enough for Lulu to reach her. "Do you know any lullabies?"

"Well, I know one. It was the one that mom and dad sung to me every night when I was a little girl," Marinette cleared her throat and laid Lulu down on her lap. " _Hush, little dumpling, the day's come and gone. Let me send you off with this little song. The sun's gone to sleep now, and here comes the moon. It's bedtime for you. You'll wake back up soon..._ " Her tone of voice was low and her words soothing. With each word, Marinette watched as Lulu's eyes began to close. She heard the baby let out a yawn, then smack her lips gently as she curled herself up again. Snores came as Lulu closed her eyes, and Marinette simply put her back in the basket and tucked her in gently. "Sleep well, Lulu. I'll be back soon."

Marinette was about to go downstairs when she felt her pocket buzzing. She climbed back downstairs and looked at her phone. The screen read that she had a call from Max. _He's already figured it out?_ She pushed the button and put her phone to her ear. "Hey, Max. What's up?"

"Well, Marinette, I ran that hair I got from the park through my machines and I found some very interesting bits of information," said Max through the phone. "Me and Markov ran extensive DNA analysis on the hair and we discovered that it belongs to someone very close to you."

"Someone... close to me?" Marinette blinked. How could that be? Mom and dad would have told her if someone in the family had a new arrival. And they would have had gone to some kind of baby shower to commemorate the birth of the child. "What do you mean by that, Max?"

"It was just as shocking to me when I found it out too, but the evidence doesn't lie," he said. "This hair, and for a matter of fact, all of the hairs that little girl has match closely with one of the students in our very class. Meaning that this must have been one of the victims of that recent Akumatised villain."

"But how? Ladybug's Miraculous Ladybugs always restore everything back to normal after the fact; even the victims get restored afterwards..." Marinette's hands trembled.

"True. So how this one managed to fly under the radar is a paradox in itself. But I think it'll be even more shocking when you find out who it really is, Marinette," Max swallowed as he prepared to say the name.

"Who is it, Max? Tell me who it is." Marinette's fingers tightened around the phone as she waited in anticipation for the reveal of the baby's name and origins. And then, when it finally came, she stood there in pure shock, dropping the phone to the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. I wanted to do this particular chapter because I didn't wanna keep calling the baby as just "the baby". After all, we do need to give things names, don't we? Sure, sure, the title clashes with the name Lulu Dupain-Cheng, but she didn't know that it was Lila going into this. And now that she does, Marinette.EXE has stopped responding.
> 
> Also, I wanted to write in Summer and August, purely on the basis that we never see them outside of Hawkmoth's little schemes and somewhat creepy obsession with Gigantitan. I think Hawkmoth might have unintentionally gained Stockholm Syndrome for one of his most unexpected Akumatisations in the show's canon. And considering that he's also decided to send Mayura to scout out poor August and make Sentimonsters out of her, I just figured that these two need some use other than being a kid villain and a concerned mother.
> 
> I'm really glad that you enjoyed the chapter, boisengirls, and I will be looking forward to seeing you in the next one of these.


	5. In Which Marinette Finds Out Who The Baby Really Is (The Following Marinette-brand Tirade is entirely owned by Marinette Dupain-Cheng Industries)

" **LILA ROSSI?!** " Marinette exclaimed as loud as she could. The shock horror of the baby being one of her biggest enemies from College Francois Dupont would have been enough to keep her ranting for a week at the very least. She almost felt faint trying to process the whole thing. "The baby in my room is Lila Rossi?!"

"Yeah. It's hard to believe, I know. But the results don't lie, Marinette," said Max as she picked the phone back up. "The hair strand matches with Lila's, alright. And from there, I was able to reverse engineer all of the remaining data. Blood type, eye colour, fingerprints, _all of it matches_. Still, it's very weird."

"You're telling me, Max! How is Lila a baby? She's a full-grown teenager at our school!" Marinette's tone of voice sounded almost like she was getting younger and younger herself with how tinny it sounded. "It's not possible! Not at all!"

"You're right. There's never been a proven method of age regression in the real world. Not counting Hawkmoth's villains, there's no way that someone can have their age reduced like that," Max remained relatively calm, despite the information staring him in the face. "So how such an occurrence has happened to Lila begs the question. How did she regress in the first place? After all, Ladybug's magic should have fixed everyone after her latest battle with Matriarch."

"Forget about that, Max! What are the other students in our class gonna say? Lila's gonna be absent, they're all gonna notice, and they're gonna ask questions!" Marinette paced back and forth in the kitchen/living room of her house. "We can't just go and say 'Lila's not in class because she was magically turned back into a baby', can we? They'd think we're total lunatics! And then what happens when her mom and dad find out? They'd never want to take Lila back if I tried to give her to them right there as a baby. They'd think I was playing some sick joke on them and lock her out of their lives forever!"

"It is the awkward predicament, that much is true. But... let's not let ourselves get overwhelmed by the information at the moment," Max replied.

"Not get overwh—LILA ROSSI, WHO IS A STUDENT AT MY CLASS IN OUR SCHOOL, IS A BABY IN MY BEDROOM, MAX! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO NOT GET OVERWHELMED?!" Marinette ranted down the speakers of the phone. "I can't handle caring for babies as it is! I've never had any lessons! The only reason she's not completely in danger is because I was able to get her some supplies from the shop, some toys from when I was a baby, and she's fast asleep upstairs!"

"Marinette. Calm down. Take a few deep breaths and LISTEN to me," Max might have been a genius, but even he knew when to step in and disarm the situation. "You are not a bad babysitter. Alya and the others have been telling me how great you've handled children before. Manon and Chris are a couple of examples, aren't they?"

"Yeah, but they were slightly older. They could walk and talk. Lila can't," Marinette rebutted. "I don't know about you, Max, but caring for babies is different than caring for little kids. They have totally different needs and minds."

"True, but once you get past some of the more attention-commanding tasks, babies are very easy to control," Max had his turn to speak again. "As for the rest of the details, namely her identity and how we can possibly find a solution to it, that's gonna be a bit of a challenge. I don't even know if I could even create a device that would allow people to get older or younger without months and months of trial and error. And even then, my schedule's pretty packed. So for the time being, Marinette, you might just have to handle Lila yourself."

"That's... also gonna be an issue. School's tomorrow and mom and dad have to work. Lila's gonna be pretty much defenceless without me or them to keep her safe." Then, Marinette remembered the conversations that she had been having earlier with Summer. "Actually, I think I have an idea of how I'm gonna play this out."

"Oh? How so?" Max asked.

"I met this woman today called Summer. And she had her own baby," Marinette started. "She taught me a few tricks of the trade and when I told her about the situation, she recommended this little place to me called Bud Garden." Marinette, still keeping the call up, went into her phone's notes and brought up the details for Bud Garden. "Summer told me that I could just walk in and leave Lila when I go to school, then come back and pick her up once I'm done."

"Bud Garden? Oh yeah, now that you mention it, I've seen the place a few times before," said Max. "So, that's your plan?"

"It's not exactly the most stable, but it works. As it stands, I can't leave a baby in my house with no-one to look after them, so I'll just drop them off there and leave them to enjoy themselves, then come back once the day's over," Marinette wished that there was a better way to look after Lila, even if she was just a baby. But the facts were more overpowering than thoughts. She had no choice but to leave her at Bud Garden every single day that she had to go to school.

"Alright, I'm just looking up some details about Bud Garden right now, since you mentioned it," As Max spoke, the sound of vigorous typing could be heard in the background. "From what I'm seeing, it's fairly recent, but it's pretty well-reviewed by people who've used it. I think Lila would be in good hands there while we're at school, Marinette."

"Summer told me that she leaves August there when she's just completely overwhelmed by work and that I didn't even need to make an appointment," Marinette added. "Let's just hope that, when tomorrow comes and I leave her behind, that she's in good hands."

"I trust you that she will be," Max said. "Well, I'm sure that you've got the rest from there, Marinette. I'll leave you to get on with whatever it is you've got going on back home. See you tomorrow." And with that, he hung up.

Marinette just turned the phone off and planted it back into her pocket. Now, she had time to properly stew and digest the information. She was still in the biggest state of shock she had ever been in her life. First, she met a baby on her doorstep with no way to trace it back to the parents, then she had been let go from her work because of it, then she met Summer and August, and now she had just been informed that the baby was actually Lila Rossi; the girl who had raised herself on lies and purposely targeted and threatened Marinette with talk of her turning all of her friends against her. People would have called her insane and, to some extent, she still believed that she was developing mental instability with all of the ongoing shenanigans involving the baby Lila.

"Okay, Marinette. This is not real. This is not real at all." Marinette headbutted the breakfast bar over and over again to try and get herself out of what she believed to be a dream. But when she finally felt the pain begin to set in, she climbed back up to her room and noticed Lila still sleeping soundly in the blanketed basket, completely unfazed by what had just happened. "This is real. This is actually happening. I'm not insane. Even though I should be insane for even thinking that I'm same. But no, there she is. Lila Rossi as a baby."

"What is it, Marinette?" Tikki asked, flitting over to her side.

"Tikki, you are not going to believe this, but Max managed to find out who the baby was." Marinette rolled her eyes towards Tikki.

"That's good, isn't it? Now we know who to give her back to. I'm so glad you've got such great friends, Marinette," Tikki let out a sigh of relief. The less she thought of the baby staying long-term and trying to use her as a pacifier again, the better. "So, who was it? Who do we have to give her back to?"

"Well... that's the hard part," Marinette became mousey as she twiddled her fingers and curled herself up. "See, Max just rang me and she told me that the baby was... Well," Marinette choked and fumbled on her words for a few moments before she finally pushed it out of her mouth. "It's... Lila. The baby is Lila Rossi."

"That's wonderful! Now all we have to do is find Mr and Mrs Ro—" Tikki then had a sudden realisation of who Lila actually was. " **WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!** "

"I know. I'm just as shocked about it as you are, but Max is a genius. He never would have said anything he wasn't sure about." Marinette walked over towards the sleeping Lila and looked down at her tranquil resting face. "But it's true. That is Lila Rossi; one of the students from my school in baby form."

"But how? The Miraculous Ladybugs should have changed ALL of Matriarch's babies back to normal!" Tikki started to feel sweat running down her forehead. "It never misses anything out; not even the really, really bad things! This is a total mess! A nightmare! I'm not even sure if turning into Ladybug again would even fix it now, since it only fixes what Hawkmoth's villains do in the heat of the moment, not before or after!"

"And we now have to take care of a baby who's supposed to be a grown teenager. Her mom and dad are gonna be worried sick, the students in our school are gonna ask where she is, and mom and dad don't even know that the baby's Lila!" Marinette added to Tikki's panicked words. "And when her mom and dad look for Lila, what are they gonna think when we just deliver her back to them as a baby? They're gonna think we're playing a cruel, horrible joke on them and they'll never want to take Lila back!"

"This is too much, it's just too much! It's chaos, madness, a terrible, terrible situation with no solution! It's a **_total, complete and utter, unmitigated, uncontrolled disaster!_** " Tikki screamed as loud as she could before Marinette stuck Tikki back into her purse.

"Ssh! Keep it down, Tikki! No-one else can know you're a Kwami..." Marinette whispered as she closed the pouch up.

"Marinette? Are you alright up there?" Sabine called from the floor below. "Do you need us to step in and take your place with the baby?"

"N-no, mom! I'm fine up here!" Marinette snapped her head back to the hatch leading downstairs. "She just had a bad dream and I'm putting her back to sleep now. I'll be down shortly," she lied, seeing it as her only way out of the current scenario.

"Well, don't take too long up there, Marinette. We've gotta make good time if we want to get this cake done for the wedding," Sabine replied to Marinette's excuse.

Marinette let out a sigh of relief as she let Tikki out of the pouch again. "Sorry about that, Tikki. But I can't let anyone know that you're a Kwami, or that you can turn me into Ladybug. Even if we're both completely shocked by the fact that Lila is a baby in our house, we can't let our bigger secret get dredged up for everyone to see; least of all Hawkmoth.

"I'm sorry, Marinette..." Tikki moaned lightly as she hung her bulbous head to the ground. "I was so caught up in the shock that I completely forgot about it for a second. Still, can you really blame me? It's Lila Rossi over there." She threw her arms over to Lila, who was still sleeping soundly throughout it all. "Do you know how much chaos and disarray that's going to cause?"

"Of course I do, Tikki. And there's no way that we can force-change her back into being a grown-up either. I think..." Marinette gulped as she tried to face reality. "I think... she's _stuck with us_. We can't take her home as she is. And by the time she does grow back up into her real age, her mom and dad are still gonna think it's wrong, because they expect her to look more like a full adult rather than a teenage girl. If we try telling anyone else about the whole thing, then they're just gonna think we're completely nuts."

The two of them shared a moment of silence between each other. No matter what they thought, no matter the situation, and no matter what came their way, there was no way out of this. Lila was a baby and there was no changing it. Nobody in Paris knew how to control a person's age, and Ladybug's power wouldn't be able to fix the mess that Lila was in. And as it stood, only they knew about the truth. If anyone else were to find out about it, they'd be in the same dead-end as Marinette and Tikki.

"Well... you always know how to make the best out of a bad situation, Marinette," Tikki finally had the courage to say. "And maybe this is a golden opportunity."

"What? What do you mean?" Marinette blinked.

"Think about it. Lila wasn't really the nicest of people. Always lying to get her way and going for you especially. You could tell that she had animosity for you as a teenager," Tikki started to explain. Now, whether or not Marinette would agree on what she was about to say was a different can of worms. "But maybe, this is the right time for her to start over; to get a fresh start."

"A fresh start? But Tikki—"

"First, we'll go and find Mr. and Mrs. Rossi. Then, you will calmly explain as best as you can the situation with Lila. If they decide to take her back, then that's completely fine. The rest won't matter," Tikki butted into Marinette's words and added her own. "If her mom and dad don't recognise that it's her and decide not to take her back, then we can raise her ourselves. We can turn Lila into a better person under our care. You and your parents can raise Lila into a good, honest, likeable person."

"Tikki, are you nuts?!" Marinette shot her arms straight up.

"Let me finish, Marinette." Tikki lightly waved her arms downward; a sign in body language to tell someone to calm down. Tikki then flitted over to Marinette's computer and, using nothing but her body to move the mouse and pound in the keys, she brought up the law of adoption. "Remember this website? You were using it for your law homework back in Autumn. It says here that you _do need_ the parents' consent to raise a child in your care rather than theirs, but that consent becomes null and void if the parents can't be found, aren't interested in the child, or are cruel and horrible to them. If any of these apply to Mr. and Mrs. Rossi, you're completely free to raise Lila with your parents, Marinette."

"Wh-what?" Marinette read the rule over and over again, trying to make sense of it. Every time she tried looking for something that seemed out of place, she couldn't find it. "This checks out. This actually checks out."

"So, that's why, first chance you get to talk to Lila's parents, you'll talk to them and show them the baby. You'll say in your own words everything you can say. And if they don't take Lila back, that shows that they are disinterested in the child, which will mean you have the right to adopt her as your own," said Tikki.

"I still think that this is morally wrong; raising someone else's child. Especially since her parents would be looking long and hard for Lila." Marinette turned away from the computer and took a seat on the couch by the basket that Lila was sleeping in. "But... at the same time, if they don't believe me, there's nowhere else she can do. Leaving her at an orphanage would be cruel, since that means she could be waiting years for parents. And I can't just give her to other people to raise, for obvious reasons." Sighing, Marinette drifted a hand over to Lila's belly, planting it softly on her chest. "I'll give your idea a shot, Tikki. And if her mom and dad do figure it out, then she's Lila Rossi. If they don't and she comes back with me, she's Lulu Dupain-Cheng."

Her moment over, Marinette silently stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Tikki behind to watch Lila. Both of their paths were clear. Marinette had to take a gamble on Tikki's idea, and Tikki had to support whatever happened as much as she could. If the time came that Lila was a permanent addition to the family, then she would do what she could to support her and Marinette as much as she could.

* * *

Time ticked on and Marinette was busy working with her parents on the wedding cake. Despite them being one person down for the majority of their time, Tom, Sabine, and Marinette all made good time. All of the layers were finally completed and now, it was a matter of decorating the cake with frosting. The three of them were no stranger to big projects like this. It showed how much they had learned and their experience as bakers. So the more they had to challenge themselves and expand their dimensions of cake, pastry, and bread creation, the better. 

Marinette, now that her head was clear and a plan had been organised, was still thinking about Lila, despite being hard at work with the cake. She was good at thinking about her secrets while working with just enough focus that nobody could tell she was thinking about something else. What could she say? Her being Ladybug had taught her well. With every individual section of frosting that was added, she was thinking about the potential outcomes that came with raising Lila as Lulu. She thought of all the moments that she and her family would have with her; all the games they would play, the food she would eat, and the eventual progression back into her full-grown teenage self.

But who was to say that it was a guarantee? For all she knew, Mr. and Mrs. Rossi would have been the smartest people in Paris and would have been able to figure out what had happened to Lila from a single look at her baby self. And that generated the next problem. Marinette had no clue what Mr. or Mrs. Rossi even looked like. She had no clue who to return Lila to. At the same time, she knew how quickly stories of missing children spread in these times, so she braced herself for the day when news came out that Mr. and Mrs. Rossi were missing their child, Lila. That would be the day when she knew who to give her back to.

Marinette was so stooped in her thoughts that she didn't even realise that the frosting had all been applied and was being smoothed out by Tom and Sabine. She took her frosting bag and laid it down on the counter, then went for a smoother and started to properly smooth out the frosting, so that it didn't look like it stuck out in places.

"It's done. Now, all that we need is the toppers," said Tom, using the back of his hand to wipe the sweat off of his brow. He shuffled over to a box and opened it up, revealing little figures of the bride and groom in the wedding dress and tuxedo. "Let's just hope that everyone at the reception appreciates our hard work."

"I'm sure that they will, honey." Sabine went over to Tom's side and gave him a pat on the back. "No matter what the situation is, if you work hard, then nobody can fault you for trying."

"Nobody can fault you for trying..." Marinette repeated to herself in her head, and it gave her some kind of respite. She knew just how much of a labour it would be raising Lila as Lulu Dupain-Cheng if Mr. and Mrs. Rossi didn't take back Lila then and there, but her mother and father were always fountains of knowledge and morals for her. "Nobody can fault you for trying. Thanks, mom," she whispered under her breath as she watched Tom and Sabine take the toppers of the bride and groom and carefully place them down on the top of the cake.

"There we go. Now it's perfect for the wedding." Sabine took a step back and admired the cake. The multiple layers spanning from the top to bottom, each one perfectly baked to the right shape, glazed with just the right amount of frosting and topped with the perfect figures to show the importance of marriage. "Be careful when you move it, Tom."

"Don't you worry about that, Sabine. This is nothing to me." Tom chuckled, then dug his hands underneath the bottom of the cake's tray. With the precision of a surgeon and the strength of a proper baker, Tom lifted the cake without disturbing the equilibrium and carried it over into a box. The box was just the right size to hold the cake. He stuffed it inside delicately and closed the top up, before sealing the box with a lace ribbon.

"I'll go and make the call. In the meantime, Marinette, you've had an awfully long day today, so I think you should just head up to your room and take a load off for a while." Sabine turned her gaze to Marinette and laid her hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure that the baby's awake by now, so you should make sure she doesn't get herself hurt."

"Right." Marinette gave Sabine a nod before darting upstairs to the living room. She was only halfway up the door when she heard the doorbell ringing. She wasn't shaken by that at all, as the doorbell could have been a delivery for her parents. She hadn't been expecting any of her friends to drop by today.

Once Marinette got back into the room, she saw Lila begin to stir from her sleep. She made some high-pitched, tinny yawning noises as she smacked her lips and her eyelids lifted themselves open, revealing their olive-green hues. As soon as she saw Marinette beginning to approach her, she made a light squeal and reached out for her.

"Welcome back from dreamland, Lulu," said Marinette, picking her up out of the basket. "Did you have a good nap?"

Lila just reached for Marinette's face, trying to play with her squishy cheeks.

Marinette couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, Lulu. There's more to play with than just me, you know." Marinette went over to the boxes, trying to see if there were any more toys that she could introduce her to. Oh! How about these? She pulled out a boxed set of building blocks and set it down on the ground. "When I was a baby, I would spend hours trying to make things out of these. Go on, Lulu. Give it a try." Marinette opened the box and let the contents spill out onto the floor, then planted Lulu down by them to see what she would make out of them.

Lila curiously examined each of the blocks that had been planted around her. Each and every one of them was different in shape, from cubes to rectangular, with a few circular and semi-circular pieces in there as well. Some had numbers, letters, or pictures on them. But they were all different colours. Lila took the first block and brought it close to her. Taken in by the colours more than anything, Lila stuffed the first block into her mouth and began to suckle on it, only for Marinette to take it out.

"Uh, Lulu, you can't eat those." Marinette explained as she knocked her knuckle against the wooden block. "See? They're unbreakable." She put it back down by Lila's legs. After which, she shuffled around in the box for something else for Lila to occupy her time with. She reached down deep and pulled out a dusty, pink pacifier. The same one she had when she was a baby. "It's been that long?" Marinette asked herself as she cleaned the dust off with a nearby dusting rod. "Man. Time really does fly..."

Marinette went back over to Lila with the now-cleaned pacifier. Just as she saw Lila was about to try fitting the block back into her mouth, Marinette took the time to stick the pacifier in Lila's mouth instead. Marinette watched as Lila began to suckle on the bulb instead. Some muted coos came out of Lila's mouth as she used the blocks to build, rather than as food. Lila took up one block and put it down, then went looking for another one and planted it down by the first one. Any and all thoughts of using them as food had gone completely out of the window for Lila, since she was more occupied with the pacifier in her mouth instead.

Marinette took a moment to stand back and admire Lila's little playtime. She had no idea what she was making, but that part didn't matter. She was just happy to see that Lila was completely occupied and taken with her little toys, pleasantly drenching the bulb of her pacifier with drool all the while. After she had arranged the blocks around, she had made what looked like a wall, with cubes holding it all up, and the more irregular shapes like the rectangles and semi-circles making up the top parts. Lila tried to put one more block on her little creation, only for her to unintentionally strike one of the blocks with enough force to cause the entire construct to collapse in front of her eyes. Rather than cry that all of her hard work had been for nothing, she instead started to giggle as she got to work at re-stacking the blocks the way that she wanted them.

"Aww..." Marinette just smiled at the way that Lila was genuinely enjoying herself with the toys. She might have been her enemy back when she was grown up, but that was a different story. This was Lila as a baby. No memories of her old self, no memories of Marinette, nothing but a baby's mind and all of the ignorance and innocence that came with it. Once it was fully built up, Marinette took a look at Lila as she threw herself into the blocks with a noise that sounded like a grunt and a coo at the same time, followed by more laughter as the blocks came crashing down again. "It's fun, isn't it?" Marinette asked as she picked Lila up and sat down with her on her lap.

"Where am I?" Marinette started a new game. She put her hands in front of her face, which caused Lila to open hers wide. She couldn't make out Marinette's face anymore. She didn't know where she was. "Peekaboo!" Marinette pulled her hands down fast, which caused Lila to laugh even more when she could see Marinette's face again. "Where am I?" Marinette put her hands back in front of her face again, repeating the cycle from before and bringing back Lila's uncertainty. "Peekaboo!" Marinette replied again as she tore the hands away from her face, which caused Lila to giggle giddily again.

"Aww..." Came five new voices. And that was the moment that Marinette jumped with the most fright out of anything else that day. There, standing in front of her field of view were Alya Césaire, Rose Lavillant, Juleke Couffaine, Mylene Haprele, and Alix Kubdel. Her five friends from school, there in the flesh. She would have screamed, but at this point, she had been caught so off-guard by everything that she just had to roll with it.


	6. In Which Marinette's Circle of Girls Discover Lila (But Not in the Way you're expecting)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've noticed upon reflection, that August is actually a boy and not a girl as I had erroneously stated in my last chapter. That error has been fixed now, so I wanted to make this note to avoid any confusion. I just went on the voice and the voice alone, and August does sound very much like a girl, despite being a boy. I guess with babies, you can never tell gender from voice alone.
> 
> That's all I wanted to say. Enjoy the new chapter, boisengirls.

"Girls," said Marinette, before she tried to think of any other kind of response that would ultimately fall flat on its' face. "What are you doing here? I thought that you were all working on Alya's blog together."

"We were. And we did." Alix flipped her hand as she strode over to Marinette. "Soon as we grabbed all the footage that we could to make a feasible entry, we came over as fast as we could. We would've been here sooner, but you know how it is with Alya's blogs, Marinette. She had to work really hard to word it so that it didn't sound like she was stealing someone else's work."

"That, and we couldn't stop thinking about you and the baby," said Rose as she took a seat next to Marinette and Lila, unaware of who she really was. "You've got such a lot on your plate with school and your parents have to work, and we couldn't just let you slave away with a baby in your hands. Isn't that right, sweetie?" And like that, Rose's words went off into a slur of babbles that could vaguely be interpreted as "We can't let Marinette run herself ragged, could we? No, no, no. No we can't. No we can't!" The way that she communicated with Lila got her to laugh, which made Rose let out a little giggle of her own in tow.

"Looks like she likes you, Rose." Juleka let out a little pleased scoff as she knelt down and laid her arm on her knee. She took one look at Lila, and as she looked back, the fact that she couldn't see Juleka's whole face was enough to unnerve her. Lila's arms were raised defensively as she turned towards Marinette.

"Oh, there's nothing to be worried about." Marinette reassured Lila as she reached over and pulled Juleka's hair away, revealing the other eye. "See? Juleka has two eyes. She's not some scary cyclops who eats babies."

Lila had a second examination of Juleka now that she could see her full face and the smile came right back. As she got closer to try and interact with Juleka, Marinette moved her hand away, which lowered Juleka's hair back over her second eye. Lila once again went on defence. She was not ready to handle a big girl with only one eye. At least, one that she could remember.

"Hang on, let me try something." Juleka reached into her pocket and pulled out a hairclip. The same one that she had debated using during the day both Hawkmoth and Mayura had contracted her again. Now, she felt confident that she could use it. She lifted the hair away from her other eye and slipped in the clip, supporting her hair and keeping it held up above her eye. "There we go. That better, kid?" She asked Lila. The baby, now that she could see Lila's face again, just reached out for her again, no longer having to fear a one-eyed girl looking into her.

"Aww..." Alya, Marinette, and Mylene all replied as they bore witness to Juleka's shenanigans with the baby.

"I'm honestly surprised that she's this easy to manage," said Marinette. Given how unpredictable that babies were, the fact that she had handled Lila this well so far was too coincidental. And surely enough, it happened. Marinette could feel Lila's diaper beginning to grow ever so slightly. As well as that, she could also feel a mushy sensation. "Aaaaand, there it is."

"There what is?" Alya cocked a brow.

"Uh, girls? Do you mind giving me some privacy?" Marinette stood up and made her way towards a folding bed/sofa. "I've gotta change her diaper. She's just used it." After which, she went over towards one of the grocery bags that she had brought home from the supermarket and took out the supplies needed to change a baby.

"Oh, right. Yeah. That's fine, Mari." Alya could already feel the smell from Lila's soiled diaper beginning to fill the air. She made her way towards the ladder and clambered down. "Just tell us when it's safe to come back in, girl." Once she went down, the others followed after her.

Once everyone had left, that's when the sobbing began. Lila began to moan slightly as the mess of her diaper began to sink in. She could only get a simple cry in before Marinette finally made a move. She lifted Lila's rump up high and, as awkwardly as she could, tore off the soiled diaper. With her arm still propping Lila up, she took a wipe and started to clean the residue that was left over on her rear end. She then laid the bare-bottomed Lila back down and went for a new diaper and some powder. Marinette had been used to juggling physical tasks, so it didn't seem like much of an issue to her. She powdered the diaper and laid Lila back into it. And that was when the tricky part came into it.

See, Marinette had known how to handle the rest of it, but when it came to diaper application, that was when the tricky part came into play. There was a lot of trial and error that came with diaper handling. If it wasn't tight enough, then it would have slipped off of Lila's butt. But if it was too tight, then it would have been uncomfortable for her, and with how fragile a baby's body was, discomfort was the last thing that Marinette wanted to give to her; even if she was her mortal enemy as a teenager. Still, she had to hope and pray that the way that she knew how to do it was good enough. She lifted the flaps up and made the cup-like frame that every diaper had, then she applied a safety pin to it to make sure that it didn't fall off.

"There we go. Let's hope that it works." Marinette sat Lila up, then opened a door to let the smell out before it hit her nose. Once she had vented all of the fumes out into the Paris airspace, she closed the window and called, "Okay, girls. I'm done. You can come back now." On her words, the five girls all came back in.

"So, what's the plans that you have, Marinette?" Mylene asked as she approached Marinette and Lila. "You don't know who the baby's parents are, right?"

"No, Mylene. I don't. But I have got some kind of plan set in place," said Marinette. "Until I can figure out who the baby's parents are, I'm gonna take her into my care. As soon as I find out where she came from, I'll try my best to reunite her with mom and dad. Even if I have to keep her for years." Marinette hung her head and looked back at the ground, feeling the weight of responsibility return, pressing her down again.

"Speaking of her, does she have a name?" Alix asked. "Even if it's some kinda weird made-up kinda name like Francisca, I'm sure that you can make it work, girl."

"Uh... Name. That's a thing that exists, right?" Marinette replied as the five girls all huddled around her, eager to hear her response. How was she going to play this one out? She knew who the baby really was, but the truth would have been so bizarre that nobody would have believed her. But she couldn't lie her way out of the situation. One, she had Alya, and she was a nosey little girl who always found her way to the truth come hell or high water. And second, Marinette had been a lawful good for so long that lying was beneath her. "I mean, of course! Her name. Her name's... well, it's Lila. Lila Rossi."

The girls just stared at Marinette for a few seconds, trying to take in what she had just said. After which, the five of them just shared a laughter at how ludicrous the idea was; the very concept that Marinette would be caring for a baby version of one of their classmates, especially given how Ladybug and Cat Noir had just defeated a villain who turned people into and reversed the effects with the Miraculous Ladybugs.

"Okay, very funny, Marinette. Now, what's her _actual name_? If she has one," Alya was the first to break out of the laughter fits as she lifted a brow at Marinette.

Marinette just blinked. She had told the truth and nobody had believed her. Well, she had to have expected it, given how there was practically zero evidence to support her claim. If she tried to press the truth forward, then the girls would think that she would have been crazy, so instead, she resorted to the one thing that she had hoped she would never have had to do: Lie. "Actual name? Yeah, I admit, it was a little bit of a weak joke." She awkwardly blushed. "Her real name's Lulu. At least, that's the name I've got for her at the moment."

"Lulu? So, not a French or Chinese name?" Alix was the first one to notice the odd name and tilted her head towards Marinette. " _What gives, girl?_ "

"Well, Lulu isn't exactly French or Chinese, so I figured that she wouldn't work with a French or Chinese name. I mean, just because I come from a French dad and a Chinese mom doesn't exactly mean I have to follow those rules religiously or something like that," explained Marinette. "I mean, how would it work if you called a Japanese kid Nigel? Or an Indian kid Bob? It'd make no sense."

"Yeah, yeah. You have me there. But at the same time, I still think that there's plenty of other names that you could have gone with, but if you're happy with calling the kid Lulu, then I guess I am too." Alix conceded, and cast her gaze towards Lulu, who squirmed over and dangled over the edge of the bed, with Marinette just grabbing onto her for support. Alix felt her pockets lighten as Lulu pulled out a pocket watch; a special heirloom from her father. "Whoa! Hands off the merch, kid!" Alix snatched it back at lightning speed.

"Anyways, I have to agree with Marinette here," said Rose. "I mean, Lulu is a kid who's lost. She doesn't exactly come from the Dupain-Cheng family tree. At least, not to my knowledge. So if Marinette wants to call her something that isn't French or Chinese, then it works because Lulu isn't French or Chinese. Or, I _think_ she isn't French..." Rose examined the skin colour of Lulu. It did have a very similar hue to that of Lila's skin, but that wasn't enough for her to go on.

"Well, she's a kid in France, so she's technically French." Alya pushed her glasses close to her face. "I mean, sure, she may have come from another part of the world, but as long as she's in France, I've gotta give her some kind of credit."

"Yes, Alya, but there's no telling who's really French and who isn't. I mean, Lila's from Italy and Kagami's all the way from Japan. Just because someone may live in France doesn't mean that they're born French. There's bound to be some people who moved from other parts of the world here, right?" Mylene added her voice to the discussion. "Either way, I think we're getting a little bit off-track here with this whole nationality stuff. Do you have a plan for handling Lulu in the long run, Marinette?" Mylene asked as she redirected her eyes towards Marinette.

"Well, since mom and dad are working, and we all have to go to College Francois Dupont tomorrow, I've really got no other option than to leave her at a place called Bud Garden. It's apparently this walk-in nursery where I can leave Lulu and pick her up after the day's over," said Marinette. "I actually got recommended the place by this lovely woman I met called Summer."

"Summer?" Juleka blinked. "Who's Summer?"

"Remember that giant baby that Hawkmoth tried to use to get Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses? Gigantitan?" Marinette asked the girls, who all gave nods. "Well, that's August, and she's Summer's son. I learned a lot of things from Summer today. About childcare, what I should be using to make sure Lulu's got the best time here, how to properly raise her, even a stable feeding schedule."

"Oh, right! Now I remember," Juleka was the first one to reply. "Blonde woman, right?"

"Yeah, that's exactly the one, Juleka." Marinette gave a nod. "The next time I see her, I've gotta get some more advice. She seems really, REALLY helpful in a time like this. Who knows? I might just catch a glimpse of her if she decides to drop August off at Bud Garden when I leave Lulu there."

"Well, I'm glad that you've got yourself a plan, Marinette," Alya planted herself next to Marinette, wrapping her arm around her friend's shoulders. "You might not be the most confident—"

"Or the most controlled," added Alix.

"Or the richest," Rose chimed in.

"Or the bravest," Juleka lended her voice as well.

"Or the most decisive," finished Mylene.

"But you've definitely got a plan in place. And that deserves some level of respect, girl." Alya gave Marinette a fist-pump. "And hey. Whatever you wanna do with this kid, Lulu, we'll be there to give you a helping hand." Alya let a little chuckle escape out of her lips. "Oh, and of course, we'll give one to you too, Lulu." Alya tousled Lulu's hair, only for her to whip her head back and grab Alya's finger. Lulu pulled the finger into her mouth and began to suckle on it, which caused Alya to jump backwards in shock. "Eeeew..." She flicked the saliva off of her finger, which just caused the other girls to giggle at Alya's plight.

"Thank you. Thank you all." Marinette had a genuine smile as she looked towards her five loyal friends. "To be honest, when I first got this baby, I didn't know what to do about it. But now, with your help, and a little bit of a stroll around the streets of Paris, I've finally got a way I can play this out."

"No problem, Marinette." Juleka folded her arms and cocked a grin of her own. "Anything to help you" —She let out another scoff/laugh noise— "And Lulu out." She pinched Lulu's cheeks, which just caused Lulu to let out another restrained chuckle.

"If you want, we could come around every so often and give you a helping hand," Mylene posed the idea. "You shouldn't have to face this kind of stuff alone."

"I appreciate the offer, Mylene. And I'll keep it in mind if I really, REALLY need it. But I think I'm fine at the moment," said Marinette. "But you are still welcome to come and visit whenever you want, girls."

"That would be wonderful," Rose replied, then went back to her special gibberish language as she spoke to Lulu. "Did you hear that, Lulu? We can come and play with you. Isn't that the bestest thing ever? Yes it is... Coochie-coo..." Those were just Marinette's interpretation of the words that Rose was saying. But it was effective, as it caused Lulu to chuckle once again.

"Y'know, I always pictured that you'd be a great mom, Mari. All those times you talk about Adrien and how you wanna marry him. I think, if I remember, you wanted to name your kids Emma, Louis, and Hugo, right?" Alya leaned in ever so slightly, which caused Marinette to blush.

"Wh-what! N-no! It's nothing like that, Alya!" Marinette couldn't raise her hands defensively, since they were occupied with Lulu, but her face still said it all. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I would love to have kids like that of my own, but you know how I'm like with Adrien. I always fall to pieces whenever he comes into question..."

"But you still wanna have those kids of your own, right?" Alix added to the teasing, yet innocent conversation.

"Of course I do! It's integral to the perfect life with Adrien Agreste!" Marinette retorted. "Well... that and a cute little hamster or two."

"I understand, girl. Well, when you find the mom and dad for Lulu or whoever she's really called, then you can start focusing on your own future kids. But until then, you have our numbers. Give us a shout if anything goes bad." Alix folded her arms and cocked a grin.

"I know, I know." Marinette sighed. She was thankful for the others to be giving her a helping hand, but at the same time, she did get a feeling that they had just drafted themselves in without knowing any better. Babies were, after all, very attention-demanding; even if unintentional. Marinette knew that her friends wouldn't be able to help her all the time, but at the same time, she could tell that they wouldn't just leave her alone and face everything on her own.

Still, every little bit helped her, given that she still had no clue who Lila's parents were or where they could have been. So until she knew where to take her, she was grateful for the help. But then, that posed the question. What about the other students at College Francois Dupont? The ones that had no clue that she had taken in a baby that wasn't her own. Especially Chloe. That girl would take any chance she could get to strike at her. Still, the less she knew, the better. And as far as they knew, she was still the only child of the family. What the others didn't know wasn't worth knowing. But then again, there was also the fact that her friends were also chatterboxes, so they would let something slip that would alert the others to her dealings with baby Lila. All that she could do now was grin and bear everything as it came. Nothing new, really. This was par for the course for Marinette. So she could adjust fairly easily.

Now, one question remained. For how long would she be caring for Lila Rossi as Lulu Dupain-Cheng? Would she find Lila's parents easily now that she knew the truth? Or would it take her days upon days, weeks upon weeks, maybe even months upon months? Only time would tell.


	7. In Which Marinette Spends Her First Day As A (Provisional) Big Sister

Night fell on the city of Paris. Marinette began to pack away all of the toys that had littered the floor, so that she wouldn't trip on them in the morning. She put back everything that wasn't being used into the box she had carried them up from the basement in. Lulu had been keeping herself occupied with a pink, rubber ring with rounded dome-like spots on it. The spots were painted yellow. Lulu found it comforting to jiggle the ring around. When she wasn't shaking it around, she was taken in with the colours of it, and tried to stuff it into her mouth. She was only able to get the edge in.

Marinette had been spending some more time to think about Lila, but in a less panicked way. She thought about the positives of having a baby Lila Rossi in her care. Before this had happened, Lila fed on lies and had it out for Marinette, often to the point where she threatened the relationships between her and the other students at the college. She had always been a devious fox when she had been a teenager, but that wasn't what she was thinking about now. She was thinking about how she was going to turn this little Lila into an actual good human being. Someone who was totally honest with everything and didn't have to resort to fibs and tall tales to get what they wanted. Granted, that kind of process would have taken a very long time, and it might not even come to fruition given that she already had a mother of her own, but there wasn't any way to magically turn Lila back into a teen again, and if her mother did find Lila as a baby, then it would have been highly likely that she would not have wanted her back. Still, Marinette had spent her time on those issues. Now, she wanted to focus on Lila growing up in her care, and whether or not every single memory of her life had been wiped out. Seeing Lila's behaviour and her infantile innocence was a pretty clear indicator, though. This Lila didn't know she was Lila Rossi. And what she didn't know wasn't worth knowing.

That thought was shattered when Marinette caught a foul odour. She could tell immediately that Lila had pooped herself again, so with nothing else to do, Marinette scurried over, carried Lila over to the couch and got a new diaper and some powder to change Lila. With some helpful pointers from Alya stirring in her brain, Marinette's attempt to change the diaper was much more efficient, and in record time, she had powdered Lila's rump, placed the straps the right way, and made sure that the padded undergarment was securely fastened around Lila's bottom.

"You've had an awful long day, haven't you, Lulu?" Marinette asked, which just caused the baby to chuckle. "But now, I think it's time that we all get some sleep. It's going to be a long day figuring out how I'm gonna play this..." She put Lila down on the floor, then went off to brush her teeth, leaving Lulu alone in the room. But not for long.

"You know, I feel kind of... weird for saying this, but I think Marinette would make a _really good big sister_ ," Tikki remarked, staring into Lulu's eyes. "She's very responsible, and she never lets anyone down. Even when you're here, she's still able to find some ground to stand on, instead of get consumed by all of the stress. I just wish you knew how important that kind of responsibility was..."

Lulu's eyes were still fixated on the magical fairy creature floating before her. The way that she glowed, her big, bulbous head, and her stumpy little arms and features. She was the perfect toy for Lulu to play with. Even looking at her was enough to pacify her and leave her in a trance. She wanted to try and grab Tikki again, only for her to shoot straight into the air, far away from her reach. But that didn't stop Lulu. She tried to reach up for Tikki, cooing and gurgling all the while. It even got to the point where she tried to stand up to get some more elevation. She lasted for all of a single second on her two feet before she lost her balance and toppled onto her back.

"Aww..." For all the times that Tikki had been used for all the wrong reasons by Lulu, she couldn't deny that seeing her like this was actually adorable. A far cry to the Lila Rossi of old, that was for sure. Even when she couldn't even reach her, Lulu still tried her very best to keep entertained, by getting back onto her feet, trying to grab at Tikki, only to tumble back down afterwards. "Actually, do you want to play one last little game before we go to sleep, Lulu?" Tikki flitted down to Lulu's side. She lurched out of the way of another grab, then playfully booped Lulu on the nose. "Tag! You're it!"

Tikki flew off, leading Lulu to give chase after her. She made extra sure not to fly too fast, so as to give Lulu some chance of actually getting her. Tikki lead Lulu around the room flawlessly; commanding her full attention without even needing to say or do anything other than move around. Often at times, she would fly underneath Lulu's belly just when she got close. Lulu was still very persistent, and made sure to keep her eyes on the glowing, colourful fairy creature that had done so well to keep her happy.

Just as Marinette came back into the room, Lulu finally got her hands on Tikki and cheered in the only way that a baby could; with a simple high-pitched squeal. She was about to stick Tikki back into her mouth as a prize for winning, when she was lifted into the air by a pair of giant hands. The sudden lift made her release Tikki, and when she was turned around, she could see Marinette again. The sight of the familiar face that had taken care of her for all of one afternoon and evening made her delighted, and she reached out to play with Marinette's cheeks.

"Having fun?" Marinette asked, as Lulu smooshed her cheeks and used her face as a toy. The smile on her face and the little giggles with each move of Marinette's squishy face was enough proof that she needed. "I'll take that as a yes." Marinette turned the other way and walked over towards the last ladder of the evening, leading up to a bunk bed without the lower bunk. She reached up high and put Lulu down on the bed, then climbed up afterwards. She could see that Lulu was trying to toddle off, but Marinette made sure to push her back gently with her hand, to make sure that Lulu didn't fall off. Once she got to the top of the ladder and shuffled into bed, Marinette pulled Lulu close. "You're so cute, you know. That's the one thing that's true throughout all of this," she said.

Lulu looked into Marinette's tired eyes and tried to climb over her again. She still wanted to play, despite the time of day and where they both were. Marinette just chuckled and kept Lulu from clambering over her.

"Lulu, you can't play anymore. It's bedtime. Time to sleep. Everyone needs to sleep," Marinette replied. She took a deep breath and began to sing once again. " _Hush, little dumpling, the day's come and gone. Let me send you off with this little song. The sun's gone to sleep now, and here comes the moon. It's bedtime for you. You'll wake back up soon..._ "

The lullaby's effect was already beginning to overpower Lulu. Immediately, the energy that she had was evaporating. Her body started to shift less and less and she let out a quiet yawn. As she stretched her arms up, Tikki took the time to fly down, get a pacifier, and bring it back up to Lulu. She put it into Lulu's mouth, who began to suckle on it gently. Every single bob of the plastic soother closed Lulu's eyes more and more. She was already beginning to slip off into dreamland, with her caretaker sending her off with a smile. At last, her eyes shut, and her hands opened wide. She flopped onto the bed.

"Sweet dreams, Lulu," Marinette whispered as she laid Lulu down on the pillow. Then, she tucked herself and Lulu in for the night. Marinette herself was beginning to fall into a state of slumber as well from how snugly she was tucked on. Her eyes slammed shut straight away as she began to think about her own dreams. And just like that, Marinette and Lulu Dupain-Cheng were in bed, fast asleep. As they slept, Tikki turned off the lamps and lights around the room, then snuck her way inbetween Marinette and Lulu's heads. Together, the three of them slept soundly in the same bed together, through a blissfully tranquil night.

* * *

The next morning, the sunlight broke through Marinette's windows with little resistance. Powerful beams of blinding sunlight poured into the room. When the room was lit up, Marinette was the first to wake up. She let out a yawn and looked around at the room. She got out of the bed and made her way towards the stairs. And that's when she saw it. Lulu and Tikki were still there, sleeping in her bed. It wasn't a dream or a crazy hallucination after all. This was actually happening for real. Sighing, Marinette climbed back into the bed and picked Lulu up as delicately as she could. She made sure to move gently, so as not to disturb Lulu in her sleep. She made it back to the ladder with Lulu and scrambled down to get off of the bunk bed. She put the sleeping Lulu into the basket she had arrived in and put the basket down on the floor to make sure that she didn't have a nasty fall.

"Well, here we go." Marinette said to herself as she went to get herself prepared for the day ahead. The first thing that she did was go to the bathroom located just outside the kitchen/living room area of her house. It was all the same every time. First, her shower to wash away the sensations of her bed. After that, a spritzing of deodorant followed by her toothpaste and brush. As soon as her morning rituals were done, Marinette got out of her pyjamas and into some casual attire. "Alright, Marinette. Simple plan. First, you have breakfast with Lulu. Next, you take her out to that Bud Garden place and leave her there. Then, you go to school. Then, just collect her and return home. Problem solved."

Once Marinette made it back to her room, Lulu was still very much asleep, to Marinette's relief. But then, the next issue came to mind. She knew that Lulu would need some feeding. And Marinette needed to feed herself. Still, she had some amble time to prepare both of their breakfasts. She carried the still-sleeping Lulu down and out of the bedroom and into the kitchen/living room area of her house. She sat Lulu down on the breakfast bar and then went rummaging around the cupboards for some food. She found some cereal for herself and a jar of mushed-up bananas for Lulu. She laid the jar down and poured the cereal for herself.

And that was just the thing to wrest Lulu from her little dream world. Moaning, Lulu's eyes woke up to an unfamiliar surrounding. Taken off-guard with the sudden change in location, she looked around for something. She made worried whines, which were about to escalate into full-blown tears until she saw Marinette again.

"Hey, Lulu." Marinette came in front of Lulu, put her hands over her eyes, then pulled them away. "Peekaboo!"

Marinette's little game got Lulu back her happiness. The fear that she once felt burned away as she laughed once again. Marinette's face was a welcome sight to behold for sure.

"How are you today? Good?" Marinette asked, yet still she got no answer back other than gurgles and baby talk. Regardless, she got out a spoon and opened the jar of food up. Then, Marinette dipped her spoon into the jar and held it towards Lulu. "It's a new day, and you can't start a new day right without some proper food, right? Now, open wide, Lulu." When Lulu didn't open her mouth, Marinette said, "Here comes the train! Choo-choo!"

It worked perfectly, as Lulu just chuckled at Marinette's advances. As her mouth hung open, Marinette put the spoon into Lulu's mouth and watched as she closed her mouth down on the silver spoon. Marinette slipped it out of Lulu's mouth, save for the foodstuff. It now found its' way down Lulu's throat and into her belly. For her, the taste was divine; and she eagerly reached for the jar to have some more.

"You like that?" Marinette asked, as she stuffed the spoon into the jar to preare a second serving for Lulu. "Well, that's great! Why don't you have some more, then?" She brought the spoon to Lulu's mouth and said, "Say 'ah...'" And like that, Lulu obeyed and opened her mouth wide for the next morsel of food. During the feeding, Marinette's parents came into the room. Straight away, they could see Marinette feeding Lulu to the best of her abilities. "Morning, mom. Morning, dad," Marinette diverted her attention to Tom and Sabine for a brief instance. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah. We slept pretty well. Did you sleep well?" Tom asked. "I know how sudden it is, this whole business with this lost baby. I just hope that she didn't cause you too much trouble."

"She was... actually very well behaved, dad. I was able to get her to sleep very easily. And I didn't get disturbed once last night, even with Lulu sleeping right next to me," said Marinette as she watched her parents begin to make some breakfast for themselves."

"Well, that's always a relief to hear. I remember when you were a baby like that, Marinette. You were always so fussy about bedtime, to the point where I just had to sleep with you just so you'd go to sleep yourself," Sabine remarked, which caused Marinette to blush at each cheek.

"Mom..." Marinette could barely remember anything from her babyhood, minus all of the toys and memorabilia that she had given to Lulu for the time being. It wasn't like her to get embarrassed. Sure, she fell to the wayside when it came to Adrien and other matters, but she was rarely the kind of person who crumbled to things like this; especially when she herself was the subject of the discussion.

"But that aside, I'm very proud of you for taking this on the chin and doing your best until we can find the parents." Sabine came to Marinette's side and gave her a pat on the back. "And if you ever need some help, then don't be afraid to ask me or your father for it."

"Thanks, mom," Marinette turned to her mother and gave her a smile back. "Oh, and don't worry about your work today. I've got just the right plan for how I'm going to play this out."

"What do you mean, sweetie?" Tom's ears pricked up as he looked into Marinette's eyes.

"When I was out yesterday, I met this woman called Summer, and she recommended me this place called Bud Garden where I can leave Lulu for the day, then come back and collect her when all's said and done," Marinette began. "That way, you two can both work as hard as you can without any distractions, I can go to school without having to worry about Lulu being unsupervised, and Lulu can just play all she wants until I come back and collect her. It's a win-win for all of us."

"Lulu?" Both Marinette's parents said together.

"Oh, right. That's... the name I've decided to give it in case we can't find the parents after all." Marinette tried so hard not to stumble with her words. She had never told her parents that she had named the child before they even knew who she even was. "I know it's not exactly a french name or a chinese name, but when you think about it—"

"I think it's a nice name, actually," said Sabine. "And I can see this little Lulu growing up into someone wonderful, I'm sure."

"R-really?" Marinette blinked for a moment. "I... kinda just came up with it on a whim. It's... not really my best effort at naming something, I'll admit."

"Well, it's better than just calling it 'the baby' over and over again. Don't you agree, Tom?" Sabine asked, eyes locking with Tom's.

"Oh, of course, honey. It's much better than just leaving it nameless." Tom nodded in agreement. "And don't worry about the naming, Marinette. It's not exactly our baby, so there's no harm in naming it how you want to name it."

"Well... alright then." Marinette curled some hair around her finger and stared back into Lulu's eyes. The spoon went back into the jar and collected another lump of mushy food. "Hear that, Lulu? My parents like your name. Isn't that wonderful?" She asked, then put the spoon back into Lulu's mouth. The food ran down into her belly quickly.

The rest of the morning was normal, aside from the baby feeding. Marinette was taking the time to eat her own food and plan out her day and what she would do, Tom and Sabine were settling down on the couch, watching the early morning news, and Lulu was just sitting on the couch dolicely by Marinette's side. Shortly after Marinette had finished her morning breakfast. Seeing Lulu there gave her a thought. So, she went back into her room, and fished through the boxes again. She took out a white bottle with an amber top, then scurried back down to the living room and looked in the fridge.

"Can't believe I didn't think about this." She scolded herself as she found the milk, opened the bottle, and poured the milk into it. Afterwards, she resealed the top and slipped the whole thing into the microwave. She set the timer so that it would just reheat whatever was inside. The bottle went in and Marinette returned to Lulu's side on the couch as the time went on. "If you're gonna be a provisional big sister, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you really are gonna have to make sure that you're much more efficient than that..." She muttered, then stared down towards Lulu.

Marinette picked Lulu back up again and made her way back to the microwave, which was close to finishing its' preset cooking time. A high-pitched beeping noise came from the microwave, which Marinette stopped by opening the hatch door of the microwave. She took out the now warm bottle with one hand, fumbling around with and nearly dropping it because of how hot she had made it. Regardless, Marinette set Lulu back down on the breakfast bar and slipped the bottle's nipple into Lulu's mouth. Lulu herself was taken by surprise of the way that the bottle had been put into her mouth, but as soon as she sucked on the nipple, that soon went away. She began to drink almost automatically, not stopping for anything. Every single second that she drank, more and more of the enrapturing milk trickled down her throat and into her stomach. Lulu was so lost in her drink that she kept on sucking even after the bottle had been emptied, prompting Marinette to take it out of her mouth.

"I should probably get going now," said Marinette as she went to the door, put on her backpack, and then took Lulu with her. "I wanna make sure that I can get to Bud Garden and then to College Francois Dupont on time."

"Have a good day, sweetie," said Sabine as she waved Marinette out.

"You two, mom and dad. Bye now!" She waved them back before scurrying down the stairs and out through the guest door onto the streets of Paris. Now came the execution of her idea. First stop: Bud Garden. She just had to hope that Lulu didn't have any... unfortunate mishaps along the way.

* * *

Marinette knew Paris like the back of her hand. Mostly because she had been zipping from rooftops and stopping supervillains and Sentimonsters as Ladybug. Yet despite all of this, this was the first time that she had ever heard of this Bud Garden place before. She could only thank Summer for this, especially given her family's dilemma if she hadn't learned of it. Her brisk little jog down the streets had finally taken her towards a door with a pink frame, the name of the establishment above it in coloured, cartoonish letters, and a large window to the right-hand side that had been completely blurred. It looked like it had been washed by a powerful rainstorm, but that wasn't the case entirely. It was designed that way so that there weren't any people looking in on the babies and their many escapades inside.

"Well, guess this is the place." Marinette walked through the door and made her way inside. A receptionist's desk was at the other side of the room, and there were a bunch of doors around the site that led to other rooms witin the establishment. All of them had windows built into the doors that allowed Marinette to see that there were multiple rooms; presumably for kids of different ages; to make sure that babies went with other babies, and slightly older kids went with kids their age. She made her way over to a receptionist, who was busy typing away at a computer. Though, the moment she saw Marinette and Lulu approaching her, she turned her focus away from the device and gave them her full attention.

"Oh! Good morning!" The lady remarked. "How are you doing today, miss?"

"I'm fine," said Marinette as she made it to the desk at last. "I've uh, got a baby I wanna leave for a bit. I'm completely overwhelmed with family life and school at the moment. Is it alright if I can just drop her off here for a while?"

"Of course. There's always room for one more here, miss," said the woman. "I'll just need some names, if that's alright. First, I'll need yours."

"Marinette. Spelt m-a-r-i-n-e-t-t-e. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. That's D-u-p-a-i-n C-h-e-n-g," she said.

"Thanks for the spelling, miss. That's always where I get tripped up here. One of the days, I nearly mispelt the name of one of the parents. Would have caused some real problems if that had happened," the woman behind the desk replied, in a casual way. "And now, the name for your baby, miss."

"Lulu." Marinette froze after that. She was about to spit out Lulu's false last name when the woman interrupted her.

"Alright then. That's Lulu Dupain-Cheng. The daughter of Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Got it," And like that, Marinette and Lulu's information had been stored on Bud Garden's PCs. "If you could just go to your right, to Room 1, that'd be great. Oh, and be sure to introduce yourselves to the workers inside and tell them everything. They'll be able to handle the rest."

"Alright then." Marinette turned towards Room 1, and used her free hand to pull the door open. And when she walked inside, she was treated to a sight that she never thought that she would ever see.

Room 1 of Bud Garden was a brightly-coloured feast for the eyes. The floors were a cool shade of red, the walls were yellow, blue, pink, and white respectively, and there were toys scattered everywhere. From building blocks to rattles, stuffed animals to rubber balls, rings to blankets, and even a few large foam blocks and shapes that had been arranged to look like a tiny baby-proofed climbing frame complete with a makeshift slide down to the bottom. There were a few babies in the room already that had been playing with the toys already. Different in gender, clothing, hair and skin colour, and what they were playing with. The one thing that made them all the same, was that they were all babies. They were being watched over by some women in white nurses' outfits, making sure that they were all safe and sound. One of which, noticed Marinette and Lulu standing at the gate that kept the babies from getting out and made her way over.

"Welcome, miss. Is this your first time here at Bud Garden?" She asked Marinette. This particular lady seemed very familiar. And for all of the reasons that Marinette knew. After all, this was the exact same lady who she had been fighting with the other day. This was who Hawkmoth had turned into Matriarch.

"Uh, y-yes, yes it is." Marinette nodded and walked through the gate. "It's nice to meet you, miss. I'm Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"Marinette, my name is Sylvia. Sylvia Berger." It was then that she noticed the baby in Marinette's hands. "Oh, and who's this little cutie come to play today?" She pinched Lulu's cheet tenderly, which caused Lulu to smile up at Sylvia.

"That's Lulu," Marinette replied as she walked into the room, making sure not to disturb the other infants in their little games and playtimes. "The reason I'm here today is... kind of an awkward situation. See, my parents both work together at a bakery and I've gotta go to school today, so there's gonna be nobody in the house to look after Lulu while we're all working."

"Ah. Say no more. That's perfectly fine, Marinette," Sylvia was fast to respond. "Trust me, I know how you feel. I used to have my own kids for a while. But when they got older enough that they could take care of themselves, things got a lot less hard for all of us," She watched as Marinette laid Lulu down on the floor and let her crawl off to whatever she could find. "But until that day comes for you, we're glad to take Lulu and keep her safe while you can focus on your schoolwork."

"Thank you, miss Sylvia. That means an awful lot for me." Marinette breathed a sigh of relief. This was starting to work out for her. At least, for the moment it was. But who knew how many more times she would have to make stops to Bud Garden? How long would she be holding Lila Rossi in her hands?

"Oh, and don't worry about the ins and outs of it all, said Sylvia. "Food and drink? That's covered. If they need a change, that's all fine. Even bathtimes aren't a problem for all of us," she looked towards the other nurses, who were all deep in their work of playing with the babies and serving as caretakers. "You just focus on your life and leave the rest to us. Then, when you come back, it'll be like you never left in the first place."

"That's a relief to hear. I'd been worrying about this all afternoon yesterday," Marinette put a smile on her own face. Then, she felt a buzzing coming from her pocket and pulled out her phone. The sight of the time was enough to make her jump out of her skin. "Gah! I'm gonna be late for school!" And just like that, her calmness went out of the window. "Well, thank you so much for this, Sylvia. I promise that I'll come back for Lila as soon as I'm done with school. Bye now!" She dashed for the door, making sure not to trip and stumble over anything or anyone in the room. It made her look like a giant, dancing praying mantis with the way that she was moving, but she still managed to get out safely.

Sylvia blinked for a brief instance, then shook her head and looked back down towards Lulu. She saw that she was crawling her way over towards a door that lead to another part of the building. Quick as a flash, Sylvia stepped in and picked Lulu up off of the ground. "Whoopsie! Not that way, Lulu. That place is only for stinky babies who need to be washed up," she said. "You're not a stinky baby, are you?" When Lulu heard the question, she just tilted her head to the side, cooing softly to Sylvia's face. "That's what I thought. Now, come this way. There's plenty mroe fun things to do here, you know." She carried Lulu over to the other babies and set her down with a couple of babies who were gathered around some blocks. One was a girl who had blonde pigtails and a white shirt, while the other was a boy with brown skin and a green shirt. Both of them were also diapered, but that was a given in this place.

Lulu didn't think much of anything; mostly because as a baby, she didn't have the cognitive functions to think of anything. All that she could do was crawl around, gurgle baby talk, and play around with whatever she saw fit, from common toys in a house, to the occasional magical fairy creature belonging to Marinette. The rest of the world catered to her every whim from food to drink, as well as clothing and beds. She didn't need to say or do a thing about any of it. And during her little game, the same could be said for that. All that she did with the other two was play. Shaking the blocks, building them, and occasionally trying to eat them, only to spit them back out again shortly afterwards. Any and all memories that she had of being Lila Rossi were null and void. She did not remember a single thing about her old life, and maybe that was for the best. What Lulu didn't know about Lila Rossi; a girl who used lies and tall tales to get what she wanted and break the hearts of everyone wasn't worth knowing.


	8. In Which Marinette's Life Seems To Go Back To Normal Without Having To Worry About Lulu Dupain-Cheng

Marinette strolled into the courtyard of College Francois Dupont. Now that Lulu had been safely put into the care of the people of Bud Garden for the day, she could finally focus on her own life and struggles without the constant, nagging fear that a missing baby would be in great danger. Now that her head had been cleared and her hands free to focus on the day, she had some time to collect her thoughts and think on a map in her mind for how she was going to proceed with raising her. Obviously, she had already talked about what happens when Lila is found by her parents and returned as well as what happens if the parents fail to recognise her and leave her in Marinette's care. But now she could think about the rest of the outcomes. What would the other students say or how would they react to Lila being missing, how they would all react to her being a big sister now, and how it would all factor into her other life, and her ongoing battle against Hawkmoth's many villains. She could already see everyone but Chloe taking a shine to her for the fact that she now had a baby sister of her own, as well as the mutual concern that Lila's absence would cause a lot of discord.

During the whole ordeal, she had also been thinking of the future of Lila growing up as Lulu. It was already a few years out, but she could already begin to piece together Lulu's new life. From her infancy to toddlerhood, and then from there to childhood. The teenager and young adult phase was still up in the air, but if it turned out that was the case, Marinette would need to teach her all of the right things in life. First of all, to hammer into Lulu's head that lying was completely immoral. After all, Lila used her life to lie and fib her way to getting everything that she wanted, when there was so many better things to get what she wanted. Once that was done, the rest of Lulu was a blank canvas for Marinette to freely play around with as she grew older and older. But even then, it was still just a possibility. There was still the chance that it could have all been resolved easily by returning her to the Rossi family. But it didn't hurt to have a plan for every outcome.

The first class of the day came and everyone took their seats. As usual, Marinette parked herself next to Alya, Nino put himself next to Adrien, Chloe next to Sabrina, and the rest was business as usual. The same people in the same seats, all of them ready to learn from Ms. Bustier. All of them except for Lila. And that was the first thing that the teacher had noticed when everyone had taken their seats. It wasn't hard to notice, especially since Lila had been learning at the college for a while now.

"Alright, everyone. Pay attention, please." Ms. Bustier gathered everyone's attention by lightly tapping a ruler against the desk at the front of the class. "Now, before we begin, I want to ask you a question. Has anyone here seen Lila?"

That was the question that Marinette had been expecting to hear the first thing she got in. As everyone shot their eyes towards Lila's empty seat, everyone except for her began to think about where Lila could potentially be. Was she late? Held up? Off on another one of her world travels? Or maybe some kind of sickness? Marinette would have thought the others would have bought any single story each of them had put forward. After all, Lila was an out and out liar, meaning that she could say and do anything, and that her disappearance was open to interpretation. She was the only one who could see through it all. Well, her and Max, but he was just as stoic as she was.

"Sorry, Ms. Bustier, but your guess is as good as mine," said Alix, cutting through the silence.

"Same here," Juleka added. "Haven't seen her today, so I can't exactly help."

The other students all put forward their own takes on the situation. Kim, Marc, and Rose shared the idea that Lila was on another one of her holidays, while Mylene, Ivan, and Nathaniel tried to say that she might just be late. Alya and Nino both said that it was possible that Lila could have been ill, but if that were the case, then surely, Lila's parents would have been called about the issue, and that would've sparked the whole issue on where Lila even was. Chloe, as usual, found it ridiculous, utterly ridiculous that Lila would even think of being absent; especially given all of the work that had to be done today. And Sabrina, being the blind lapdog that she was, seconded that notion.

"What about you, Adrien? Have you seen Lila today?" Ms. Bustier asked.

Adrien said nothing. He did not care for Lila at all. He had grown wise to her tricks. If it wasn't for her lies, it was her sexual advances towards him. Lila had always been trying to get under his skin and make him his boy toy, but he was having none of it. When Ms. Bustier asked him again, he finally said, "Ms. Bustier? I actually feel uncomfortable talking about Lila. Can we please just begin the lessons today?" That was enough to get every student to turn their gazes to him out of curiosity.

"Ooo...kay?" Ms. Bustier was just as stunned as the others. "W-well, alright then. I'll, uh, get started then. If Lila does come early, I don't want any of you mocking her about her being late. We all have our reasons to be late."

Marinette did feel like the odd one out for more reasons than just being Ladybug. She was the only one who knew about Lila's secret change, but if she said anything about it, the entire class would have thought her insane. After all, age-regression was nothing more than a fantasy; a weird fetish that people had cooked up in cartoons and artwork. But then again, her recent battle was against a villain who could actually turn people into babies, so it was entirely plausible. But that was Ladybug talk; not real world talk. Ladybug matters and real-life matters had to be kept apart; never to coalesce. If age-regression actually existed in the real world and people had been able to use it, then it would have essentially created a means for people to become immortal, and that would have created a whole new plane of discussion and philosophy entirely. After all, what was the purpose of dying if they could just get age-regressed and turn back the clock to the start again?

Marinette barely even paid attention to the lesson as it started; as all she could think of was the prospect of starting over, and how anyone and everyone could have taken that chance if it was real. She was already fantasizing about other times where she and all of her classmates would have been in the same family, or had known each other since they were very small kids, or that they would have had entirely different personalities and lifestyles with different people raising them. Most of this talk had been spurred on from the fact that she was raising Lila Rossi from infancy into Lulu Dupain-Cheng, effectively wiping the slate clean and re-writing Lila as a human entirely. But it was all to remain a fantasy; never to see the light of day. And maybe that was for the better. What good was anyone and anything if it could be changed that easily? Why should people care about anyone if they could get age-regressed and start all over again with a better hand in the card game of life? Maybe it was good that age-regression didn't exist. But still, the idea still wracked her brain and did get her thinking about things.

"Marinette? Are you with us today?" Ms. Bustier sliced through Marinette's thinking.

"Wh-huh? Uh, y-yeah! I'm here, Ms. Bustier," she finally said. "I've just... been thinking about things recently."

"Probably lost in her little world again. As usual," said Chloe. "Well, I've got news for you, Duapin-Cheng. Adrikins is MINE. Nobody else's." She hissed like a cat would've.

"For once I actually wasn't thinking about Adrien, for your information, Chloe." Marinette put her hands to her hips. "I was just thinking about that recent Hawkmoth villain yesterday. Y'know, the one that could turn people into babies? I was thinking about the idea that, what if that actually existed in real life? Without Hawkmoth's intervention? The ability to turn people back to babies is practically immortality incarnate and opens so many doors for people."

"It's... an interesting thought for sure, Marinette. Though, if you would, save those thoughts for another time. After all, this is still a classroom, and we still need to teach you and the others," Ms. Bustier firmly, but calmly laid down the law for Marinette. "There's nothing wrong with thinking and fantasizing whatsoever. I used to have a lot of ideas for myself when I was your age, you know. But that's for another time."

Marinette blushed as she returned her attention to the lesson. She could already hear the snidely, muted giggles of Chloe and Sabrina from a distance as she just kept her eyes on Ms. Bustier and what she was writing on the chalkboard. Aside from that little stall and the words of the others, the class went on as normal. There was a lesson on geography and borders whether contested or not, and everyone was writing what they could down on the worksheets that they had been given.

* * *

The class came to an end at long last, and Marinette finally had some time to think more and more about age-regression. She and the other students left the class and made their way to the courtyard once again. She had to admit, talking about age-regression without revealing the truth about Lila. And speaking of Lila, she had never showed, and that became the new hot topic between most of the students. Sure, sure, she would take some lessons out, but she would always have some kind of reason as to why she was gone. But here, there was no reason. She didn't contact them, she didn't explain, she just got away with playing hooky. And again, nobody would believe Marinette because of how every other student's mind had been molded by Lila's many lies. Still, she was happy that those lies wouldn't be able to influence them anymore now that Lila was a baby. Who would ever believe the gurglings of a baby, who couldn't even think about the idea of words?

"Hey, Marinette? Are you busy?" A hand touched Marinette's shoulder and she turned around. It was Nathaniel, who had Marc by his side.

"What is it, Nathaniel?" Marinette asked, lifting a brow.

"What you said in class today, about age-regression, the process of people turning back into babies again, it's... interesting, not gonna lie." Nathaniel nodded. "I mean, it definitely warrants a lot of thought and it presents quite a strong philosophical argument."

"You... you think so?" Marinette's eyes widened.

"Oh yes. The second you said 'Hawkmoth villain from yesterday', I knew where that was going," Marc added. "I mean, it's so out there that it's the most interesting thing I've heard all day. The very idea that people can be turned back into babies could change everything if it was developed, tested, and proven."

"But so far, the only really close thing we get to that is Hawkmoth, and I don't know about you, but if I were to get turned back into a baby again, I would rather have it done ANY OTHER WAY than by one of Hawkmoth's Akumas," said Nathaniel. Then, he looked into Marc's eyes and gave him a sideways hug. "But then again, I don't feel comfortable leaving Marc all alone like that again. So, I'd say that I'm happy with the life I have now."

"I mean, it's definitely an interesting concept for sure. But as it stands, nobody's ever had the idea to try and research it or try to figure out the logistics of how it all works. And I can't even imagine the amount of trial and error that it would take, as well as the risk of the tests going horribly wrong." Marinette rubbed the back of her head. "Like, sometimes, the age-regression could just focus on their mind, leaving them their regular age, but with an aged-down mind, or just shrink their age but keep their minds intact."

"I can't even imagine the amount of problems that would cause," Nathaniel rubbed the back of his head. "Guess with that in mind, I'm glad that it doesn't exist yet. It'll just remain a fantasy and a topic for some TV cartoons."

"And I'm not sure about you, but I don't think the Fountain of Youth is a real thing either, so we can rule that out. But still, it's like Ms. Bustier said earlier; there's nothing wrong with fantasizing," Marc added. "Still, it has given me an idea for another comic. Hope you don't mind if I credit you in the preface, Marinette."

"No, no. It's all fine, Marc. Go ahead." Marinette clasped her hands together and nodded politely. "You and Nath write whatever you want."

"Thanks, Marinette." Marc shook Marinette's hand. "We'll get started straight away. C'mon, Nath."

"Thanks again, Marinette." Nathaniel added as he scurried off with Marc, to plot the creation of their next comic, leaving Marinette all alone.

"Hey, girl." Alya finally came over and patted Marinette on the back, causing Marinette to jump in shock. "So, how did Lulu treat you last night? Not too much of a handful, I hope?"

"N-not exactly, Alya. She's been relatively well behaved, actually." Marinette let out a sigh of relief as she locked gazes with Alya. She knew that Alya would always have her back through thick and thin, even when she didn't know how to explain things to her. "Okay, there were a few diapers that she went through, but other than that, Lulu's been very well behaved."

"Really? That's good to hear." Alya smiled, taking some solace in the fact that Marinette was comfortable with raising Lulu. "When the twins were just babies, they were exceptionally hard to handle. Even when I was a kid, their crying woke me up more than a few times on school nights. And that was just at night. Half of the time, I wonder how mom and dad even got on when me and Nora weren't around."

"Babies can be a handful, but Max told me that once you handle the more attention-commanding tasks, they're actually quite easy to deal with," said Marinette. "And I know that Max hasn't exactly had that experience before, but Max is Max, and do you really think I'm gonna argue with his logic? He's an incredibly smart kid."

"Wish he could've told me that when I was seven years old and the twins were still in diapers..." Alya folded her arms.

"Hey, it was out of your hands, Alya. You were really small back then and mom and dad had four kids to look after. It's totally natural that there'd be a little bit of a strain to tend to all four of your needs. You, theirs, and even Nora's." Marinette knew that Alya's family was the largest out of the students in class. She had been around her house a few times, and even then, she knew full well how much trouble the twins caused, even now that they were older and could think for themselves. "Still, I don't think I've got anything to worry about. Lulu's just one baby, and I've had someone really helpful teach me some tricks of the trade to help me care for her the right way."

"Speaking of which, you haven't told anyone else about Lulu, have you?" Alya added. Sooner or later, Marinette would have to share the fact that she was now a big sister rather than an only child now. And Juleka, Rose, Alix, and Mylene knew the story as well. "I mean, it's not every day that a family just has a baby; especially one that they take in off of the street."

"Well, to be fair, I'm still trying to find Lulu's real parents along the way. It's just not right to raise someone who's not part of my bloodline. But if it turns out that there's really no other option, then I'll just have to take it on the chin and just do it, Alya." Marinette subtly pushed her fingers together as she turned her gaze to everyone else. "We all know what it's like to have a family. Even if those families have different methods of doing it. Lulu's mom and dad must miss her very much, and I can't even imagine the kind of pain that they feel knowing that their daughter is gone. If I can't find her family, then I'll just have to do my best to welcome Lulu into the Dupain-Cheng family with open arms; even if I'm wrong."

"No matter what happens, Marinette, you've still made the right choice regardless. You've opened your heart to a missing baby and generously decided to take her in, treat her right, and keep her safe until you can find her parents. At the end of the day, you're still entirely in the right, Marinette." Alya held Marinette's hand tenderly. "And we're still all here to help you if you want it. So just give any of us a shout and we'll come running to help you and Lulu out."

"Thank you, Alya." Marinette softly replied.

"No problem, Marinette," said Alya. "Now, let's see if we can swing the conversation in a different way."

The rest of the time that Marinette and Alya spent together in the courtyard was talking about other affairs. What they did at the weekend, news that had been floating around on the internet, updates on the Ladyblog, the usual. Marinette had to admit, spending time together with Alya was a good way to lift some of the weight off of her shoulders. Alya had been one of her oldest friends since she had been to College Francois Dupont and she always felt better whenever Alya was there to back her up and push her in the right direction. Without her, she would've been lost without anyone to fall back on.

When those talks were still over, she went back to thinking about age-regression. What if it were found out that Lulu was actually Lila, reincarnated as a baby and given a second life? How crazy would the world have gone if the news came out that Lulu Dupain-Cheng was actually Lila Rossi in baby form? What would her parents think? How would the rest of the world think? And how would age-regression be worked on in the future in an attempt to replicate the witchcraft that Marinette and her family would have been accused of? Marinette just gave herself a slap on the face. It was stupid of her to keep obsessing about fantasies, no matter how vivid they were. This age-regression was just a passing thing, and it would soon be forgotten about one way or another. She just had to worry about Lulu and only Lulu. She was the one age-regression case in the entire world, and that was how she wanted it to stay. Far better than it to remain her secret and (potentially) her real mother's problem, then for the rest of the world to lose their mind over the fact that a teenage girl was turned back into a baby.

* * *

When the day came to an end, Marinette didn't even wait to say goodbye to the rest of the students. She just wanted to get Lulu back to her house. Marinette even had the strength to avoid getting lost in the thought of Adrien. Adrien was a case for another time. For now, she had a baby sister that she needed to collect from Bud Garden and bring back home. The walk felt more like a route march with how fast her legs were carrying her. She got some texts from the other students, which she quickly replied to and then stuffed her phone back away.

After a long walk down the streets of Paris, Marinette finally returned to Bud Garden once again and made her way inside. The building was exactly the same as she had remembered it being. Same walls, same rooms, same receptionist even, it was like the establishment had been frozen in time.

"Oh! Welcome back, Marinette! Good day at college today?" The lady at the reception asked.

"Yes, yes. It's been an okay day. I'm just here to pick up Lulu and bring her back home." Marinette already had her head turned towards Room 1's door. Beyond it, Lulu.

"Alright, well, I have to admit, Lulu has been very happy here. Girl hasn't stopped smiling since she arrived; or at least, that's what the staff inside say. Especially Sylvia. Sylvia seems to have taken a special kind of shine to her." The receptionist still typed away at her computer, but still gave Marinette a smile and pointed her in the direction of the door. "Well, you can go in whenever you're ready. Your daughter's ready for you."

Marinette looked shocked for a moment, but then she just took a deep breath. "Thank you," she said Marinette as she walked over to the door and pushed it open wide.

And like that, she was once more greeted with the striking colours of the nursery, as well as the babies who were still playing around inside. There were a few less babies than when Marinette had first arrived, but there were still a lot of babies there. All of them blissfully unaware of anything and everything but the room around them. And even then, they didn't have the ability to retain memory and information, so they just continued doing what they were doing. Some were napping, some of them had pacifiers in their mouths, some were being bottle-fed by the staff, and the rest were playing with the toys.

And right in the middle of it all was Lulu, who was now dressed in a pink tutu and had pink bows in her hair tying it up to look like she now had a pair of pigtails. She was busy cuddling up with a large, plushie snake, cooing softly as she wriggled around, as if she were trying to wrestle with it. She didn't even notice Marinette until she made it through the baby gate and came close to her. Then, when her eyes recognised Marinette, her hands let go of the plushie and reached up for Marinette eagerly, spouting off gibberish in excitement.

"Hey there, Lulu. Did you miss me?" Marinette asked as she picked Lulu back up and held her close. "I can see you've had a fun time here with the staff." She looked closely at Lulu's tutu and bows. It was as if she was an entirely unrecognisable baby. If it wasn't for her darker skin tone and hair, Marinette would have confused her for another baby. It just went to show how much different Lulu was to Lila; which was ironic, given that they were both the same person.

"Lulu had a great time here, Marinette," Sylvia had just put one of the babies she had been looking for back down on the ground. And as it crawled away, she stood up and walked over to Marinette and Lulu. "We played all sorts of fun games together, and she got along great with a lot of the others. Especially Tamika. Lulu spent practically the whole day with her."

"Tamika?" Marinette looked around the babies to try and find anyone who looked like a Tamika.

"That one." Sylvia pointed Tamika out. Tamika had brown hair, had a pink diaper and a dark green shirt and was just casually slapping a plastic book with her hands. "Tamika was such a sweetheart, and Lulu just couldn't help but be with her out of all of the other babies. They must be really good friends by now."

"Did you hear that, Lulu? You've made a friend! Yes you have! Yes you have..." Marinette cooed and nuzzled Lulu, which just caused Lulu to hug Marinette's neck.

"Oh, but before you go, I'm afraid I am gonna have to take back those clothes." Sylvia quickly plucked the bows from Lulu's hair, causing her hair to fall back down behind her. Then, the tutu came off, revealing the rest of Lulu's shirt and diaper. "I wish I could let you go off with them, but they do belong to Bud Garden. And besides, there are other babies that like to dress up here too, you know."

"Oh, r-right." Marinette blushed as she saw Lulu for what she really was: Lila Rossi as a baby. That was the truth, through and through. "Well, I think she looked really good like that."

"You know, if you want, you can always buy yourself a tutu and some bows from the shop if you want. It might cost you some euro, but I promise that Lulu would look great no matter how you decide to dress her up, Marinette," said Sylvia as she walked Marinette and Lulu back to the door. "Oh, and when you get home, I hope you have a great evening with Lulu and your parents."

"I'm sure that we will," said Marinette. "Oh, and before you go home, do you think you could let the receptionist know that I'm not exactly Lulu's mother? There was a little bit of confusion this morning and when I came to collect her that I actually gave birth to Lulu. I haven't been pregnant at all."

"Oh, right. Well, I'm sorry that you heard that. I'll be sure to let her know all about it." Sylvia nodded. "And until the next time, Marinette, Lulu, we'll see you soon!" She waved them off.

"See you soon too." Marinette flexed her fingers to wave the staff members off, then pushed her body out through the door. Now, it was just her and Lulu. As Marinette walked towards the door, she took a moment to look into Lulu's eyes again. "Oh, Lulu. What are we gonna do with you?" She asked, both innocently and questioningly.

Lulu Dupain-Cheng was exactly like Lila Rossi, no matter how many times that Marinette tried to think otherwise. Every single time she looked at her, all that she could see was the face of her old enemy, only in baby form. The only things that she could have said, however, was baby talk. No lies, no truths, just unintelligible, indecipherable gibberish. That was one of the things that Marinette could handle when it came to Lila, when it came to the sheer, unbridled animosity and antipathy that she had for Lila before all of this had happened. But even then, Lulu wasn't Lila. And she never would be Lila again. Even if the face was the same, the soul inside wasn't. That was what gave Marinette the gumption to keep going; to see this through until the very end. If Lila did have to stay with her, then she needed to make sure that she had a new change of face posthaste. The less that she thought about Lulu being Lila, the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. I've been debating whether or not to share this with you, but I do have a Patreon account. If you wanna support me financially (which is totally optional, by the by), then click on the link below to get access to my Patreon Page. It only costs a single dollar each month. Yes. One dollar. I'm that generous.
> 
> https://www.patreon.com/sonatabetes
> 
> And I do hope that you've enjoyed this new chapter. I'm really enjoying writing this story and sharing it all with you wonderful people. There'll be more to come later on.


	9. In Which Benigna Speaks Up

Back in her room, Marinette put Lulu back down on the ground of her living room and pulled out some toys. Rubber rings and balls, some building blocks, a rattle, and even her old teddy bear if needs be. Like the many times before, Marinette could only watch as Lulu just gurgled total nonsense and went for the toys, completely losing herself in the playtime in seconds. It was a wonder how, despite being age-regressed, she was taking this. Marinette had to assume then, that when Lila had been age-regressed into Lulu, it also reset her brain and erased all of her memories so that she really did think that she was a newborn baby. She didn't know any better, though. And she didn't want to know. It was far too confusing and jarring for her to even make sense of something that she had never heard of before until now. But it did make handling Lulu all the easier. Now, she just needed to be ready in case she was hungry, or she needed a change.

"So, Marinette? What are your plans for raising Lulu?" Tikki asked as she watched Lulu peacefully shake the rubber ring, then try to eat it because of how pretty it looked. "You know, in case we can't take her back to her parents?"

"Well, Lulu is Lila, right? So I'm gonna make sure that she grows up never, ever, ever even thinking about lying. She doesn't deserve to go back to her old ways when she's been given the chance to start over like this," said Marinette straight away, cutting through Tikki's question. "Lila Rossi lived off of lies and deceit. Nobody should try to do that kind of thing just because they want to get their way. It's unfair to everyone else around them. And given the Akuma climate, she's liable to cause so much damage and destruction with a liar's mindset. But, now that she's a baby, we can teach her to never lie. We can show her that truth is everything; that being honest, kind, and patient will get you everything, rather than saying what people want to hear to fasttrack you to your dreams."

"Are you sure that it would be morally right, though?" Tikki pushed her stumpy little paws together. "At the end of the day, Lulu is Lila. We can't change who people are deep down."

"True, Tikki. But babies are a different story," said Marinette, lifting a finger to Tikki. "Because of their tiny, undeveloped minds, they can be made to think and feel anything, and then they have absolutely no recollection of it." Marinette looked over at Lulu as the ring fell out of her mouth, then Lulu went off to the teddy bear and picked it up. "Since babies can't remember anything, they can be made to think however we want them to think. In a way, Lulu Dupain-Cheng has absolutely no memory or anything of being Lila Rossi, so we don't have to treat her as if she's Lila. We can make her who we want her to be. And if that means we can turn Lila into an actual good, honest person, then that's a win for me. That is, if we actually get to keep her. For all that we know, her mother could be pleading right now for someone to give her daughter back. Then all this goes out of the window and it's entirely pointless."

"I dunno... It's still very wrong. She had a life before all of this Hawkmoth business," Tikki drifted to Marinette's side, sat herself down on Marinette's shoulder, and glumly looked to the ground. "Lila Rossi's parents must be worried sick about her. Sure, you didn't get along with her in the time she was a teenager, but someone in her family did. And now, they may never get to see their little girl again. Surely, you have to feel some kind of guilt for harbouring a child that isn't yours, right?"

Marinette sighed as well, her eyes locking with that of Tikki's. "I do, Tikki. I really do. It isn't fair that we've been left this burden, but life is never fair to anyone, is it?" Marinette walked over and sat down by Lulu's side. She held one of Tikki's stumps with her finger. "We'll get through this though, Tikki. No matter what, we'll come out of this. Lulu Dupain-Cheng or Lila Rossi, whichever of the two, we'll be sure to see the next day with a smile on our faces." Marinette put on a brave smile, but even she knew that raising a baby was an incredibly demanding job; especially when she had school, her parents had to work, and Lulu was just a baby. Most of the stress stemmed from Lulu's existence, as she would poop, go hungry, want a drink, or hurt herself without anyone there to care for her. Marinette had to juggle her needs as well as the lifestyles that she already had. Even now, she was cutting out practically all of her free time to look after Lulu, meaning that she couldn't hang out as often with her group of girls, or think about how she could talk to Adrien. Every single moment of her time was all focused on Lulu whenever she was at home. And until she got older or was found, that was how it was going to stay.

To break Marinette's train of thought, Lulu looked towards Marinette and stopped for a second. The two of them shared a moment where they just stared each other in the eyes. Lulu tilted her head to the side, gurgled a little, then crawled over to Marinette. She then climbed into Marinette's lap and tried to stand herself up, wobbling on her tiny legs as she did so. She then toppled forward, bringing Marinette into a cuddle as she giggled lightly. No matter what the outcome was, Lulu was happy to be around Marinette. Moaning peacefully, she closed her eyes and nuzzled Marinette's chest as she grew more and more calm.

"Well, at least she likes me." Marinette cuddled Lulu back, patting her back very gently. "Lila would never have done anything like that if she knew better. But Lulu? Lulu isn't Lila. Well, I mean, she is but she also isn't, but at the same time..." Marinette tried to find the right words, but then sighed. "Forget what I said, Tikki. She is and she isn't. Let's just leave it at that. No need to overcomplicate things."

"You two do look adorable together," Tikki remarked. "If it makes you feel any better, that is."

"I guess it does, Tikki." Marinette lifted Lulu and sat her down on her knees. "Lulu, if I do get to keep you, I promise you that you'll have the most wonderful life here," she started as Lulu looked blindly at her. "You, me, mom, dad, and Tikki—even though you won't remember her when you grow up—are all gonna make sure that you stay happy no matter what. And when you grow up, I know that you'll be a good little girl; one who doesn't have to live off of lies to succeed and feel some kind of happiness." Lulu didn't say anything, but she did look endlessly into Marinette's eyes, blinking every once in a while. "Aww... come here you." Marinette brought Lulu close and blew a raspberry into her chest, causing Lulu to laugh wildly. Her blank expression now warped into a pure smile; a genuine smile. "Who's my precious little bundle of joy? You are! Yes you are..." Marinette tickled Lulu on the belly, which just kept her laughing.

Lulu could only feel one thing as Marinette played with her. Pure, unbridled joy. She wouldn't remember anything of this once it ended, but for what it was worth, this made her happy. And that was the one thing that she needed; happiness in times like this. Once she finally gained control of herself, she reached over for Marinette's nose and slapped it with her minature hand, laughing as she did so. She did it again, and again, completely invested in using her little hands to touch Marinette's nose.

And that was when it happened. Marinette reached over and pinched Lulu's own nose with the sides of her hands, while sticking her own finger in the middle of it. "Got your nose, Lulu!"

Lulu looked down at her face and widened her eyes. She really did believe that her nose had gone missing. Her hands scoured her face for any semblence of her nose, but she couldn't find it. Whining desperately, she reached for Marinette's hand in an attempt to get back her nose from her. And when she did, Marinette just stuck what Lulu believed to be her nose back onto her face. The whining stopped, and she sighed as she smiled at Marinette again and cuddled her once more.

"You're so cute, aren't you?" Marinette booped Lulu back on the nose that she had so 'stolen' from her, watching as her laughter started to dwindle. Marinette stood back up and carried Lulu in her arms like any mother would their child. "You know, for being who you used to be, I completely forgive you if you're going to be in our family, Lulu. After all, you could be my little sister if we can't figure this out with your parents." Marinette tousled Lulu's hair. As she did it, Lulu grabbed her hand and stuffed one of Marinette's fingers into her mouth. "You're awfully keen on doing that, aren't you?" Marinette pulled her finger straight out of Lulu's mouth. "Well, if you're hungry, perhaps I can whip you something up after dinner. But until then, have this." Marinette picked up a pacifier and put it into Lulu's mouth. Once she did, Lulu's hands backed off and she began to suckle tenderly on it. _One of these days, I need to find Summer and August again. I need to ask her what I should do if Lulu keeps on wanting to suck on things like this. Could she be malnourished? Or does she just love doing that?_

Marinette came downstairs with Lulu in her arms and saw that her mother was sitting down at the couch watching some TV. She saw the time and noticed that it wasn't even near close to the end of the day, yet here Sabine was, sitting down, and watching the news. Marinette had to assume that she was having a break and that Tom was handling the business downstairs. It would make sense. Even for being such incredible bakers, even Marinette knew that her family couldn't work endless shifts like machines. They too needed some time to themselves. Marinette decided to sit down as well, with Lulu still in her arms.

"Hey, mom," said Marinette as she sat down beside Sabine, resting Lulu delicately on her lap. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, hello, Marinette," Sabine replied as she looked into her daughter's eyes. "I'm feeling fine, yes. I've just been having a long day of work, that's all. Tom noticed that I've been starting to wind down a bit as well, so he thought it'd be best if I had a little downtime," she said. "I'll be back to baking shortly, though. Don't worry about me."

"I won't." Marinette gave a nod. She knew better than anyone that the Dupain-Cheng family was a proud lineage of bakers, and that they wouldn't let a simple thing as work drag them down. They would always finish the day's work no matter what; even if they had to take some breaks inbetween it all.

"So, how have you and Lulu been today?" Sabine asked, noticing that Lulu was curled up in Marinette's lap. "Did your little trip to Bud Garden work out after all?"

"Yes, it did. Summer wasn't wrong," Marinette said. "I couldn't exactly stay a while and see how things were conducted, but I did get a good look at the nursery. It looked like the perfect place for Lulu to play in whenever I'm at school." She patted Lulu softly and in a certain rhythm that was unbroken despite her conversation. "And the staff there all seemed like the friendliest people. Especially that Sylvia lady. She seemed to know her way around babies better than I ever could."

"I'm glad you're finding so much help in these times, Marinette. Between a lost baby and all of your school work, I thought for sure that you would have collapsed outright trying to balance it all." Sabine reached over and put a hand on Marinette's shoulders. "But look at you, Marinette. My little multi-tasker. I couldn't be prouder to have a daughter like you. No matter how bogged down you get, you always find a way to see things through to the end. You definitely know how to take salt with sugar."

"Thanks, mom." Despite the fact that Marinette secretly didn't like that saying because of how salt and sugar were two entirely different things and that it would be criminal to put them together, she couldn't help but approve of the way that her mother used it. She knew that deep down, what Sabine really meant was taking the rough with the smooth, which, given her life as Ladybug, Marinette already knew how to do anyway.

"No problem, Marinette," Sabine just smiled, then turned back to her usual programming.

"So, what are ya watching anyways?" Marinette asked, looking at the TV.

"Oh, it's nothing much really. Just another one of Nadja's news broadcasts. Nothing too special." Sabine put the remote down on the side of the couch. "It's just my little way of keeping up with the world. Doesn't she cover Ladybug's fights against Hawkmoth now too?"

"Well, yeah, but I usually just watch Alya's Ladyblog for that kind of stuff." Marinette blushed at both cheeks. She didn't mean to discredit Nadja's work as a professional reporter, but it was Alya and her exploits as a reporter that made the Ladyblog what it was today. She could always rely on her more than Nadja to keep track of all of the many battles she had fought. "I heard that she couldn't update her blog straight away because she was one of the victims of Hawkmoth's latest attack."

"Which one was that?" Sabine blinked.

"Matriarch. A supervillain that had this bazooka thing that could turn people into babies," Marinette replied. "It was a rough battle, but in the end, Ladybug and Cat Noir came out on top like they always do. It was a shame about Alya, though. She got caught in the crossfire so she had to wait until the battle was over, then turn to the actual news and CCTV footage to get what she needed for the blog. She was _not happy about that at all._ "

"But I bet that she was happy about being a baby again, wasn't she?" Sabine cheekily remarked.

"M-mom!" Marinette felt embarrassed, blushing at each cheek. "She couldn't have helped it. And she didn't even remember anything about it! As a baby, you tend not to think about anything and just go along for the ride." Even as she thought about it, she still vividly pictured the moment when, in an effort to use her Lucky Charm, she shamelessly had to use her babyfied friend to lure the villain over so she and Cat Noir could finish the fight off.

"Relax, Marinette. I'm just teasing you. I do still feel sorry for Alya, I really do," Sabine calmly replied. "I can understand why she would be upset over the fact that she couldn't record and put that fight onto her website. It isn't fair when you want to be a reporter, but then one of Hawkmoth's villains just goes and puts you back in diapers again."

"Yeah. It isn't fair at all..." Marinette's fingers skirted Lulu's back. The conversation was really starting to affect her in ways that she had not been anticipating. Even now, looking at Lulu, would it still have been a mistake to care for her if her parents didn't even recognise and want her back? Would she have to harbour the guilt forever of being the girl carrying Lila's parents' child without them ever realising the truth? And how different would Lulu be from Lila? She knew that being a parent was an arduous job, but the last thing that she needed was more pressure piling on top of the pressure that she was already feeling.

"This is breaking news! I have just received information that Italian diplomat Benigna Rossi wants to issue a public message to the people of Paris!" Nadja Chmack finally spoke on the news, snapping Marinette out of her trance as she and Sabine watched the screen.

"Rossi? As in... Lila Rossi?" Marinette mumbled silently to herself. "So, I'm about to find out who Lila's mother really is?

All of a sudden, the screen changed, and a woman with magenta hair and a black shirt with red lipstick on. From the way that her mouth was curled down, her hands were shaking, and her eyes unable to stay focused on the camera, this was not going to be a happy message. "So, uh, I don't know how many of you are going to get this, but this is an emergency," she started. And already, her voice sounded like she had something that had been taken away from her. "But, yesterday, my daughter, Lila Rossi never came home. She attends College Francois Dupont, and the last time I saw her was 8:25 AM yesterday. She never came back to my house since."

"Oh no..." Sabine gasped, then turned towards Marinette. "Isn't that one of your classmates, Marinette?"

"It is..." Marinette tried her best to sound like she was surprised, but in reality, she knew the truth about Lila's whereabouts. "What could have happened to her?"

Beninga choked on her own words and fumbled around with a piece of paper. She unfolded it to reveal that it was indeed a picture of Lila Rossi. "This is what my daughter looks like. She has brown hair and olive-green eyes," she said. "Please. If ANY of you know anything about where she is, come to my house. I'm in the 16th arrondissement, near the Trocadéro, at house number 537. I know you're out there, Lila. If you're reading this then, PLEASE, for my sake, come home." She started to cry. "Please, Lila... I miss you." That was when the feed was cut, and the screen returned to Nadja.

"Well, folks. If you have any news on Lila's whereabouts, then please let Ms. Rossi know as soon as possible," Nadja said as the news and relevant information that Benigna had just shared appeared on the scrolling bar at the bottom of the screen.

And that was when the television was turned off. "Oh, Marinette. I'm sure that feels awful, doesn't it?" Sabine was the first one to speak, breaking up the silence that hung in the air. "Your classmate's gone missing and her mother's in shambles. And you've got all of these other worries on top of that." Sabine couldn't help but give Marinette a large hug, making sure not to flatten Lulu in the process.

"Yeah... It is awful, mom. Poor Lila." Marinette pushed her fingers together. Then, in the middle of the hug, she looked down at Lulu, who tried to wriggle off of her legs. She had to use one of her hands to scoop her back onto the couch. "So, w-what are we gonna do now? Now that, well, uh, all of this is happening?" She asked, looking into her mother's eyes.

"I think that, for the time being, you should probably go outside and get some fresh air. After all, you've had a long day, and between all of your work, your stresses, and now Lila going missing, it wouldn't be right to just let you stay here and stagnate on it." Sabine patted Marinette's back. "Why don't you and Lulu go outside again and go for a walk around the place? Clear your head some more? After all, it worked out so well the first time."

"Alright. But I'm still worried about always having to take Lulu out with me everywhere I go. It just... it adds to everything, you know?" Marinette shrugged as she broke out of her mother's hold. She was the only one who could care for Lulu in the current climate and conditions of everything. To say that it was draining every single bit out of her would have been an understatement. "I'll go anyways, just because it feels right. But I do need some downtime, you know? It's a good thing that it's the weekend now, and that I don't have to go to school." She stood up, plucking Lulu from the couch. "The three of us can just stay home Saturday and Sunday and look out for Lulu together."

"A-alright, dear." Sabine could tell from Marinette's fatigue in her voice that she was going to fall at any moment. The way that her daughter was slogging through this whole ordeal wasn't right. She needed some downtime; a moment to herself. It now seemed like there would be absolutely no respite for Marinette no matter what. She felt bad about having her free time, and as soon as Marinette went up the ladder to put Lulu into the basket to carry her again, Sabine decided to roll up her sleeves and go back downstairs. It wasn't fair that she was the only one relaxing on it all when her husband was working alone and Marinette was trudging through her problems.

Once Marinette came down with Lulu in the basket ready to go out, she saw that her mother wasn't there anymore. She thought that her spare time had all been used up and that it was back to the kitchen for her. But still, now Marinette's path was clear. She knew where Benigna Rossi was. She could have ended the whole thing there and then. But now, it was all a case of whether or not Benigna would even recognise her daughter, or even want to take her back given how Lila was now a baby, rather than the teenage girl that she knew too well.

"You ready to go, Marinette?" Tikki asked as she looked up at Marinette from her purse.

"Yeah, Tikki. Let's do this." Marinette walked out the door and made her way down the stairs. Then, she went out the backdoor and walked down the streets of Paris, with Lulu's basket firm in her grip, and Lulu quietly relaxing inside of it. "Fingers crossed this works..." Marinette knew that this would be the moment that changed everything. And whether or not the baby would be raised as Lila Rossi in Benigna's care, or Lulu Dupain-Cheng in her own care. Either way, at least she would finally be able to get some closure and plan her future out accordingly.


	10. In Which Marinette and Benigna Meet Face-to-Face

Marinette spent the entire walk focusing on Lulu. Gently rocking the basket she was nestled in up and down to keep her calm on this trip towards Benigna's house. Lulu didn't know that this might have been the last time she would ever have seen Marinette ever again. Marinette wasn't entirely sure on that front either. It would all come down to whether or not Benigna recognised Lila in this state, understood what had happened, and would be willing to take her back. If not, then that would have made Lulu's status as Marinette's little sister permanent.

Marinette made her way past all of the usual houses, buildings, shops, and other parisian architecture as she made her way down the road towards Benigna's house. Being Ladybug, she practically knew every street and corner of Paris flawlessly by this point, but never really had the time to go inside. She could only conceptualise what people got up to. What they did, how they lived their lives, who they lived them with. And that just made her think more of Benigna. It was the first time that Marinette had ever actually seen Lila's mother. And she didn't exactly look like the kind of person that would've brought Lila up to be a silver-tongued snake of a person. So could Lila's lying nature have stemmed from something else? And if that was the case, exactly how had Lila been living with her mother? From the way that she had been acting at school, it obviously wasn't a good relationship, but who was Marinette to judge?

Besides, Lila wasn't even Lila anymore. Or rather, she wouldn't have been if indeed it came to that Benigna didn't recognise Lila and denied Marinette the chance to give her back. Any and all of that lying disposition she had was eseentially null and void, as was the rest of her personality. In her baby state, she was once again a blank canvas; free for anyone to mold however they wanted. And if it came to be that Marinette was the one to re-shape Lila and give her a new meaning, then the Lila Rossi of old would be no more. That is, if she was able to keep her.

"You know, I can't help but feel sorry for Lila." Marinette finally spoke to Tikki, who was still tucked away in her purse.

"What do you mean, Marinette?" Tikki tilted her head. "Didn't you use to hate her?"

"Well, yes. But now, I'm seeing this from every angle. And seeing Benigna like that, asking and pleading for her daughter to come home, it makes me wonder how exactly Lila behaves when she's at home. She can't just be an out-and-out liar to everyone, right?" Marinette asked.

"You think that Lila's home life might be very different to her outside life?" Tikki replied.

"It's not a whole lot to go on, because I've never really seen her when she's at home, but if her mother really loves her that much, then there has to be more to the story of Lila Rossi..." Marinette looked down into Lulu's eyes, trying to think of Lila's life rather than Lulu's. "For all that we know, she could have developed her liar's personality from a few things other than seeing some kind of benefit to them. Maybe there could be some discord between her and her mother and she uses lying as a coping mechanism to make herself feel happy. But even then, that doesn't bode well for her or anyone when it turns out that her lies have been nothing but lies."

"Especially when Hawkmoth's on the loose and Lila's lies could be fuelling Akumatisations." Tikki twiddled her teeny stumps as she looked into the sky. "For all of the words that she can say without remorse, they can be incredibly hurtful to build up people's hopes, then shatter them in an instant once they find out the truth." She poked her head out of the purse and took another look at Lulu. "I guess, when you really think about it, her getting turned into a baby is a lucky break."

"But not exactly lucky for her mother. Poor Benigna..." Marinette could only feel the dread and sadness that now coiled around Benigna's heart. This was the kind of stuff that was guaranteed to have negative repercussions down the line. Especially given that there was no words that Marinette could say to fix all of this. The object of her sadness was her missing daughter; Lila Rossi. Unless Marinette could find some way to magically re-age Lila back into teenage status, there was nothing she could do to make Benigna feel better.

"Still, you're only just a girl. Just say what you need to say, then let the rest handle itself." Tikki pushed her hands together. "If you can't return Lila because her mother says she's not Lila, then don't try and force it on her. But if you can give her back without a hitch, then that's completely fine, Marinette. Either way, this is the moment that changes everything."

"Yeah. You're right." Marinette swallowed a lump in her throat and fist-pumped with her free hand. She needed to get this out of the way now; rather than just let it fester and sow seeds of doubts and unease in her mind. "Well, no time like the present, Tikki."

"Mmhmm." Tikki gave a gentle nod and watched as Marinette, with renewed vigor, made her way down the road with Lulu still curled up gently in the basket. She started to think more and more about the concept of Marinette and her family raising a baby if it turned out that Benigna didn't take Lila back. So far, the way that Marinette had handled this whole dilemma was exceedingly well, but how different would it all be if this was a full-time thing? For them to permanently add Lulu Dupain-Cheng into their life? How different would Marinette and her family be with Lulu? And exactly how would Lulu grow up as opposed to Lila Rossi? So many different outcomes and scenarios were juggled around in Tikki's mind, but she knew that it was still early days and the visit hadn't happened yet. She couldn't tell what fate had in store for any of them.

* * *

Marinette had always seen the streets from above, but never actually navigated most of them from below. Her route to Benigna's house didn't even come close to any of the places that she had been before. Marinette didn't really have much business when it came to the 16th arrondissement. Usually because it was where all of the foreign embassies were. Still, she would have never imagined that Lila's mother was an actual diplomat. She had believed that it was just another one of her lies that she had spread around for the sole purpose of attracting attention. But now. It was the honest to goodness truth, and now Marinette actually felt a little bit bad for interpreting one of Lila's many lies as the truth. That was a new one for her.

Lulu had been very well-behaved on this little journey. Not a single whimper, cry, or soiled diaper throughout. Whenever she hadn't been playing with or being entertained by Marinette, she had been mesmerised by the pretty colour of the clear sky above her head and the puffy clouds that drifted by. She often stared to the sky and tried to reach out to grab the clouds and bring them closer to her, but to no avail. Still, it was very fun to try and play with the sky above, even if she was doing nothing but wiggling her arms and hands around and grabbing nothing but thin air. She didn't even know where she was going; nor did she even have the concept of destinations.

"Y'know, Lulu, it doesn't matter whether you go back to your real mommy and daddy or if you stay with us forever. I'm sure that, this time around, you'll be raised so much better than the last time." Marinette brought Lulu's basket up to her face, locking her gaze with that of the baby inside. She waited for Lulu to make a gurgling noise. "Well, Lulu. Or... Lila. Whichever one it is, I just wanna say that, for the time that we've spent together, it was very nice. And if this goodbye, then I hope that Benigna raises you into someone better than you were. Because trust me. Nobody should ever have to grow up and live as a liar. It's just not nice."

"You really seem to be bonding well with Lulu, Marinette." Tikki finally chirped after Marinette finished talking. "Like, you realy are. It's like she's your own little sister."

"Well, Tikki, I want to treat Lulu as best as I can whether or not she gets given back to Benigna today," Marinette explained as she turned towards Tikki. "If I'm gonna raise Lulu up myself, then I need to remember to cut out all of the attachment that she has to Lila and treat her like she's someone else. It's better that way. The less that she knows about Lila Rossi and the less that I remember of Lila Rossi, the better." Marinette lowered her arms back down.

At last, Marinette found herself on the street where diplomats usually lived. One of these houses was the home of Benigna and Lila. But Marinette didn't exactly know which one. She couldn't have known, after all, since she didn't want anything to do with Lila; including her household. Then, it struck her. Duh! She had Max. And Max might have been able to figure out where Lila lived. Fishing into her pocket for her phone, she slid the basket around her arm so that it stayed secure. Marinette scrolled through her contacts and chose Max's contact. She pushed the button that resembled a phone and listenened for the dial tone.

"Hey, Max? I need to ask a favour," Marinette said as she finally heard the tone end. "If you've got time, that is."

"Sure, Marinette. What is it?" Max's voice came through her phone once again, as clear as could be.

"Well, earlier today, Lila's mother, Benigna Rossi asked the people of Paris for any help in finding their daughter." Marinette had to be extra careful not to drop Lulu during her phone chat and curled her arm backwards to ensure that the basket was locked into place. "Right now, I'm on the 16th arrondissement, but I'm having trouble finding out where Lila and Benigna live. Do you have any idea where they'd live?"

"Well, Marinette. You've come to the right place. Because I've already traced the origin point of that call she made and located her house," said Max, with the sounds of a computer typing away in the background. "Her house number is 1406 on Séraphins Street. What street are you on now?"

"Uh..." Marinette had to look around for the nearest street sign that she could find. Suddenly, she saw that there was a map of the surrounding area that she could take reference for; usually for tourists if they ever got lost. God, she felt so embarrassed, having to read off of a map when she knew the city like the back of her hand. Though, to some extent, that was more because of her role as Ladybug, so maybe she could have forgiven herself. "Well, according to this map, I'm on Séraphins Street. So now... Let's see, 1000, 1400, 1406! There it is." Marinette pointed out the house number on her map. "Thanks, Max. You're a miracle worker."

"No problem, Marinette. Always glad to lend my helping hand with this whole ordeal," said Max. "So... You think this will be the day you say goodbye to Lulu?"

"I don't know. There's so many different directions this whole thing could go. But the sooner I show Lulu off to Benigna, the better. It's better than just spending each and every day worrying about where her real parents are. And if it turns out that Benigna doesn't recognise Lila as Lulu, I've already got a fallback plan in mind."

"No matter what happens, Marinette, you're coming out of this stronger," Max quickly replied. "Whether Lila is reunited with Benigna and back in her rightful place, or whether something else happens, you've behaved the best that you could be. But... you probably don't need me to tell you that."

"Y-yeah." Marinette blushed at both cheeks. She didn't like boasting much. It painted a bad image for her. "Anyways, I should probably get going. Thanks again, Max." And like that, Marinette hung up on Max, stuffed her phone back into her pocket, and released the arm that held Lulu securely. "Well, Lulu. We're almost home now. You'll see your real mommy and daddy soon. I promise."

Lulu, again, with no concept or thought of anything just looked into Marinette's eyes and giggled to herself.

Marinette took a deep breath and made her way towards house 1406 on the street. It wasn't that far of a walk for her, thankfully, as there wasn't exactly 1406 houses on that street. After all, there were other businesses and commerce on these streets; not just the houses and homes of dignitaries and diplomats. But Marinette had no time to browse any of the shops. She had to get Lulu back home to Benigna and tell her the truth. The day was finally going to come that she got some form of closure on this little issue.

And there at last, standing before Marinette was house 1406 Séraphin Street. It didn't really look like anything special. Just an ordinarily painted house with nothing to write home about. No front garden, nothing special in the windows, nothing really unique about it that Marinette could make out. It was just a normal house on a normal street with a normal italian diplomat inside of it. Only thing missing in that normal italian diplomat's house was her less than normal italian daughter; who now had been regressed back to being a baby. How was Marinette going to explain this to her? As she eyes up the door, the speech that she had to try and make sense out of this whole thing went up in flames, with the ashes scattering on the winds of her imagination. There was no way that she could explain this without looking like someone who had gone completely insane.

"Well..." Marinette gulped as she reached to the door, readying her hand to knock. But as she did, she felt a weird sensation in her arms. Was this really right? To present Benigna with a baby version of her own daughter? Rather than the real daughter that she had raised and would know full well how she looked? And what kind of fury would she feel towards Marinette under the assumption that she was trying to break her heart? She couldn't deal with a Hawkmoth incident. Not today, at least. But at the same time, she couldn't just sit and let this all fester. She needed to take action and chart her course now, before it got too out of hand for her to handle. "Here we go." Gulping a massive lump in her throat and summoning all of her strength, Marinette knocked on Benigna's door for a good five seconds, then politely stood back and waited for Benigna to show up.

Seconds passed by; each one seeming longer and longer as Marinette blankly gazed at the door, waiting for some kind of change. At long last, she got that change. The door handle jerked down and the door was opened ever so slightly, revealing Benigna on the other side. Marinette could see her hair and clothes much more clearly, and she was a far cry to what Lila looked like in every sense of the word. You could've said they were entirely different people from different families if you put them both back to back.

"Hello?" Benigna spoke as she looked into Marinette's eyes, trying her best to mask the pain within her soul. "Who are you?" She asked.

"My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. And I want to take a moment of your time to talk to you about something." Marinette walked forward. "I saw your news article, and I'm sure you're worried sick about your missing daughter, Lila."

"Yes. I... I really am." Benigna took a deep breath and clasped her hands together. "She didn't come home two nights ago and I'm awfully worried about her safety," said Benigna. "The poor girl barely gets any time to be with me or her father, given how we're so busy with our work and she's got that hectic life at College Francois Dupont to focus on. I can only imagine that all of the stress and neglect we've been showing her caused her to run away."

"Y-yeah. Well, about that." Marinette swallowed again. "I'm awfully sorry about what's about to happen, Benigna."

"Sorry? What for?" Benigna tilted her head.

"You are REALLY not going to like this. And you'll definitely think that I've gone insane. You might even get really angry and attract one of Hawkmoth's Akumas, but... I found this the other day." Marinette held Lulu up towards Benigna, finally letting the eyes of both mother and daughter meet for the first time since her regression. "But two days ago, I found this baby on my doorstep. And I was able to get one of my friends to confirm that it was Lila."

"B-b-but that's not possible. It's DEFINITELY not possible." As soon as Benigna heard Marinette say those words, she began to feel apprehensive about this. When she looked down at the baby, it did bear a very striking resemblance to Lila when she was in her baby years. "How? What? Why?" She questioned. "There's definitely no way that's my daughter. Lila is all grown up, and she's out there somewhere!"

"Yes, but if you'll remember. The other day, there was a supervillain that turned so many people in Paris back into baby states. Matriarch, she was called." Marinette began to lay as much of the truth down on Benigna as she could. "Ladybug and Marinette came rushing into battle and won in the end, so the Miraculous Ladybugs that Ladybug always makes should have fixed everyone. But it looks like they decided to miss out this one."

"Don't be ridiculous. I know Ladybug by now. Her powers fix everyone all at once, no matter how far they are or what they've been cursed by." Benigna's tone of voice started to get peppery as she folded her arms. "Are you trying to say that Ladybug's powers would purposely leave Lila alone? No way! Ladybug loves everyone; even my sweet little Lila!"

If only Marinette could have told Benigna the truth about Lila, but she'd rather not try and stoke the fires anymore than they were already burning. "I know it's ludicrous, but this baby IS Lila. It's been confirmed by—"

"By who?! Tell me, **by who?!** " The fury in Benigna's heart was beginning to rise to a degree that not even she could control. Her hand tightened up into a fist as she glared down Marinette like any dragon would. "Your imaginary friends in fairyland?! You're an ordinary girl in an ordinary city! You don't know anything about my little Lila! She is a full-grown teenager who is out there lost and alone! There is no way on earth that she could still be a baby like this. There is nothing on this planet that can turn anyone into a baby!"

"Benigna! I'm telling you the truth!" Marinette yelled back, to assert her own dominance in the conversation. "You can be angry at me all you want, but my parents have raised me to never, ever, EVER tell a lie! There's no way I'd be telling you any of this if it wasn't true! This baby is Lila Rossi. Ladybug forgot to change her back and I'm not even sure how I can change her back myself!"

Her yelling seemed to work, as it snapped Benigna out of her trance. She never thought that this girl would be so desperate to fight her corner; to shoot down the truth that Benigna believed in. Benigna finally gave in and let a sigh. "S-sorry about that, Marinette. I'm just too torn up by this whole thing to think straight. I know that you care about me and my missing daughter, but I have to accept the truth as I see it. And the way that I see it, I'm afraid that you're not giving me solid evidence that proves Lila is a baby." Benigna went through her phone and found the first image of Lila that she could find. It was one of the two of them smiling together as they were standing together in a street unfamiliar to Marinette. "This is my daughter, Marinette. Surely, you've seen her before?"

"Y-yes... I've seen her alright." Seeing Lila's real face after all of this and looking back down at Lulu's face really put everything into perspective for her. It didn't make her more comfortable with it, though. "Look. I'm sorry for wasting your time. If you don't believe me, then I can't force you to believe me."

"I know that you're trying your best to tell the truth, but we can't mix truth with lies and fantasy. **Facts and figures dictate everything.** " Benigna pushed the tips of her fingers together. "The facts are that there is nothing in the world that has been discovered that can turn people back into babies. The facts are that there was a villain that could do that, but Ladybug and Cat Noir defeated her and magically restored everyone. And those facts are _irrefutable, Marinette_. Lila Rossi **is still out there**." With one last sigh, Benigna put her hand on the door and said, "I appreciate and thank you for caring about me and Lila, but there's nothing in the world that can prove to me that the baby in your hands is my daughter. I'm sorry. I really am. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to try and find Lila. Good day, Marinette..." And with that, Benigna closed the door on Marinette and Lulu; effectively saying her one last goodbye to the daughter that she had lost without even knowing it.

Marinette felt a heaviness in her heart as she saw the door close. That had solidified the whole thing for her. Benigna had been so rooted in her beliefs that she had chosen to deny the truth without even knowing it. A far cry from her daughter, who would've twisted all of the truth into lies to benefit herself; not knowing the damage that it had caused. She took one last heavy breath of air and looked down towards Lulu again. Even after that heated exchange, Lulu had been extremely docile about the whole thing. It didn't matter to her whose parents she belonged to, so long as she was happy with who she had looking after her.

"Well, I guess that's it, then." Marinette said as she walked away from the door, entirely fixated on Lulu's olive-green eyes. She took a seat on the nearby bench and groaned, slumping her back over bench's rear. "I wish I could've fixed this, Tikki. I really wish I could have."

"Marinette, I know that it's really upsetting what just happened, but we have to move forward," said Tikki as she poked her head out of the purse slung around Marinette. "You said it yourself that if Benigna didn't take Lila back that you had to take her into your own family. I know; it's incredibly wrong and it feels unfair, but what more can we do about it? We can't force the baby onto Benigna and she's convinced that the baby isn't Lila, even after the fact that you've told her the truth."

"She chose not to believe me, just like how nobody believed me when I kept telling them Lila was a liar." Marinette took another heavy breath as she thought back on the words that Benigna had said. "A mother who accepts what's on the surface no matter what it is, unaware of what's hiding underneath. And a daughter who can't benefit from the truth so has to live on lies. I really, really feel sorry for both Benigna and Lila. It's not fair on either of them to have lived like this." Even as her body began to freeze up with regret and discomfort, she was still able to get her words out. "I'm sorry, Benigna. I really am. And I never will stop feeling sorry. For you and for this."

The sound of Lulu gurgling broke Marinette out of her trance, and as she looked down to see what was going on, Lulu just reached forward and grabbed Marinette's cheeks, playing around with them and smooshing them around like she was some kind of giant, flabby teddy bear. She laughed after she had done playing around with her new caretaker's face and snuggled back into her basket.

"Well, if there's any silver lining to this, you don't have to live off of lies and deceit anymore." Marinette gently placed the palm of her hand on Lulu's tummy and rubbed it as gently as she could. "You'll live with me from now on. We'll be sure to raise you the right way. We'll be able to teach you all of the right from the wrong. And we'll promise to spend as much time with you as we can, so that we can avoid anything like this." She watched as Lulu stared into Marinette's eyes. "I promise. Lulu Dupain-Cheng."


	11. In Which Marinette Dupain-Cheng Finally Welcomes Lulu Dupain-Cheng to the Family

Marinette made it back home after a long walk back home. It hadn't exactly been long since Benigna Rossi had denied her the chance of reuniting her with Lila Rossi, but Marinette was already thinking of what to say. How would her parents handle this? And moreso, how would everyone else that she knew react when it turned out that she had a new little sister? One that had appeared out of nowhere? Even now, thinking about how different life was going to be with Lulu Dupain-Cheng in her care was proving to be overwhelming. But the die had been cast. The meeting had been made. There was nothing that she could do about it now. Lila Rossi was gone forever. And in her place, there was only Lulu Dupain-Cheng.

Lulu Dupain-Cheng didn't have any cognition whatsoever about anything. While all of these serious moments were happening around her, she couldn't think about any of it; only about the teenage girl that was holding her basket up. Marinette Dupain-Cheng commanded all of Lulu Dupain-Cheng's attention. Mostly because of how pretty and caring she looked. The world could've been falling around her and she would've just mindlessly babbled and giggled while playing with her body or with her toys. She didn't care about things because she didn't want to care about them, but because she physically lacked the mental ability to care. No matter what happened, she would smile so long as the big person before her eyes was keeping her safe and happy.

"Well, Lulu. Welcome home." Marinette opened the door and walked all the way back upstairs to her bedroom. "Welcome to your new home, that is. I know it's not much and it isn't anything really glamorous like you had with your last house, but you're safe here. You can be happy here." She put the basket down and picked Lulu out of the basket, laying her down on her back on Marinette's laps. "You won't ever need to lie to anyone about anything ever again. That much I can promise."

Lulu just gurgled baby gibberish at Marinette, looking into her eyes.

Marinette couldn't help but crack a grin. She knew that Lulu would never be able to understand anything going on around her, but that in itself was enough to put her at ease. It made her very simple and plain to deal with. "You wanna know what my favourite food is, Lulu? A raspberry!" And just like that, Marinette picked Lulu up and blew a raspberry onto her tummy. And that was enough to send Lulu into a fit of hysterics, laughing crazily as Marinette played with her.

Tikki finally poked her head out of the purse once more and watched as Marinette and Lulu bonded with each other. Even with the sad truth that Benigna had chosen not to take back her child—even if she didn't know that it was actually Lila—at least she was in safe hands with Marinette and her family. Tikki did have something in the back of her mind, though. Sooner or later, she knew that Marinette would have to come out and tell the truth; no matter how bizarre and alien it was. After all, Lila thrived on a foundation of lies. Tikki didn't want Lulu to grow back up and revert to Lila's ways of lying to get what she wanted. She wanted a clean start, but that clean start wouldn't come unless Marinette told everyone the truth of the matter.

"You look like you're having fun," Tikki said after Marinette set Lulu down on the floor to play again.

"Well, as much as I can in these weird times, Tikki." Marinette twiddled her fingers together. "I mean, the other day, I was an only child. And now..." Her eyes drifted off to Lulu, who was chasing after a ball that she had unintentionally pushed around with her miniscule hands. "Now that all this is happened, I'm a big sister."

"I know..." Tikki felt overwhelmed by the idea of it all. Taking in a new child was no mean feat; especially the babyfied version of your greatest enemy. "But... I wanna speak my mind a little about this, Marinette."

"Oh?" Marinette replied, cupping her hands so that Tikki could sit down on them. "What is it, Tikki?"

"You can't keep this a secret forever, Marinette. Sooner or later, you're going to have to tell everyone the truth; that this baby is indeed Lila Rossi; that the Miraculous Ladybugs didn't restore her with the other victims of Matriarch's attack." Tikki exhaled heavily now that she had gotten it off of her chest. "If you keep this secret, it's only going to get harder and harder to keep; like your role as Ladybug."

"I know that, Tikki. But this secret is less of a hassle and has less negative recuperations than my other life as Ladybug." Marinette watched Lulu finally grab the ball. She watched Lulu give it a severe talking to in her own words—or lack thereof—and lightly toss it away, where it daintily rolled onto the legs of Marinette's dress stand. "Sure, sure. It's very, very weird and wrong that Lila's a baby. But there's nothing we can do to fix it and there's no scientific research being undertaken that can age people up or down at the moment. We've just gotta buckle down and go with it." She watched as Tikki drooped ever so slightly at that remark. "Oh, Tikki. You know that I mean the very best for everyone involved in this. But what can I do? The Miraculous Ladybugs only work after one of Hawkmoth's attacks, and they're only responsible for fixing the current dilemma at hand. At least, that's what Master Fu always told me."

"It's not fair. But we can't just unravel this now. It would be like undoing the very threads of fate and destiny themselves. And we can't exactly just use one of Bunnyx's Burrows to go back in time and stop Lila from being regressed into this. That would tamper with the timeline and cause damage to the future. And then what?" Tikki said. "Trust me. If there was another way, I'd be all for it. But there is no other way, so we just have to do what we can in the here and now, leave all of our regrets and worries behind."

"Yeah." Marinette sighed as she watched Lulu drift off towards another toy in the corner of her eyes. It was a small, foamy, box-shaped toy with some numbers sewn onto it. Marinette watched as Lulu grabbed the block and studied it from all sides wiht her smile returning. "Well, in the meantime, I guess I'd better let Max know that my attempt to get Lila back ended in failure." She reached into her phone and speed-dialed Max again. It only took a couple of dial tones until she finally got through. "Hello, Max?"

"Marinette? Well, I wasn't expecting to hear back from you so quickly," he said from the other end of the line. "Did you manage to get Lila back to Benigna's house in one piece?"

"No, Max. I'm afraid that I didn't," said Marinette, gulping ever so slightly. "I brought her to the door and explained everything that I could. And I made sure to tell the absolute truth to her. But she still didn't want to believe it and chose not to take Lila back."

"Well, that is a bit of a shame, really," said Max. "There's nothing much that I can do about it. I might be smart, Marinette, but the concept of manually-triggered age-progression and regression is uncharted territory. Even if me and Markov devoted all of our time and resources to the project, it would still take an awful lot of time; not to mention the amount of testing that would need to be done. And I needn't risk another person being forcibly aged up or down with no way of changing them back to normal."

"Yeah. It is a shame. But we've just gotta learn to buckle down and accept things as they are; no matter how odd they can be." Marinette said as she looked towards the ground with uncertainty. Things might have been the way that they were, but it was not the way that she expected or even wanted. "What's even more disconcerting is that I'm gonna have to tell the truth to everyone soon. Rose, Alix, Juleka, Mylene, Alya..." She swallowed a lump in her throat, "Adrien..."

"If it's any consolation, Marinette. You _do_ have me as a witness so I can back up everything that you're saying. And if the others have any issues with it, we'll both calmly and rationally explain things to them as best as we can." Max went on. "It's unexplainable, I'm aware. But it's better than saying nothing and letting the lies fester. If people call you a lunatic, then let them. At least you're telling the truth; even if nobody else but you and me see it."

"Right." Marinette coiled some hair around her fingers as the last sentence stewed in her mind. It all just made her think of Benigna again how she was telling her everything but she didn't want to believe it. Suddenly, the moment was broken up by a foul smell reaching her nose. Marinette gagged ever so slightly at the smell. "Ugh! How did mom and dad deal with me when I made a mess like that?" She exclaimed."

"Sounds like Lulu just made some brownies; metaphorically speaking, that is," said Max. "I'd best let you get back to it, then. See you on Monday for class, Marinette."

"Y-yeah. See you later, Max." Marinette tried her best not to sound like she was being tortured as she fought against the sensation of the foul-smelling pong of Lulu's soiled diaper. She heard Max hang up first, which made her do the same. She stuffed her phone back into her pocket, picked Lulu up as she started to whine for help, then carried her over towards the couch. "Oh, sweet stars above..." Marinette grit her teeth as she tried her best not to let the smell beat her, but it was an uphill battle all the same as she laid Lulu down and went for a new diaper and the powder for it.

"I still don't get it," said Tikki as she watched Marinette take the ruined diaper off of Lulu and dispose of it as fast as she could. "Why don't babies just learn to control themselves more?"

"It's not as easy as you think it is, Tikki," said Marinette as she cleaned off the rest of the poop on Lulu's butt and set up a new diaper for her. "Babies aren't as developed as humans are. Not just in their minds, but in their bodies as well. They haven't learned how to control their bladders or their own poop. It's just something that their bodies learn to do as they get older." Marinette lifted Lulu's rump up, powdered her new diaper, then set her bottom back down on it. "It would be easier for every parent if a baby did learn how to control these kind of things, but they just can't. It's just part of their development into an older human being."

"It still seems like a lot of hard work, Marinette. Those supplies aren't exactly cheap. And if Lulu goes through so many of them in a day, then that'll be extra problemental. Not just for her, but for your wallet too," Tikki remarked. "I don't want there to be a day when this stuff happens and you don't have any supplies left."

"It's alright, Tikki. I've still got a surplus left. And if I don't restock, then surely mom and dad will," Marinette grinned as she tightened Lulu's diaper so that it fit snugly on her body. Afterwards, she picked Lulu back up and carried her back to where she had originally been playing. "Not to mention, I've got Summer now. She's been doing this for a while with August, so I'm sure she's managed to way to save money on this baby business."

"Just like you, Marinette. Always two steps ahead of me," Tikki just lightly chuckled. At least she had faith in Marinette's ability to handle the situation.

"Speaking of which, I should probably give her a call, see how she's doing." Marinette went for her phone again and punched in Summer's phone number. She hadn't really known her for too long, so it was far too early to make her a contact. Still, she did her best to enter the number and waited patiently. A few tones later and she was finally there.

"Hello?" The voice on the other line said.

"Summer? It's me, Marinette," she said as the connection went through.

"Marinette? Well, how are you doing?" Summer asked on the other line. "And more importantly, how has Lulu been doing? She been well-fed, constantly changed? Kept as happy as can be?"

"Mmhmm. I just changed her into a fresh diaper right now as a matter of fact," Marinette nodded as she engaged in such a casual conversation between parent and guardian. "What about you? Is August behaving?"

"About as well as he can be. But I tell you, it's getting harder and harder to keep him under control with Hawkmoth and Mayura setting their sights on him," Summer replied. "Still, I'm doing what I can to keep his spirits up. As I'm sure you're doing the same with Lulu."

"Yeah." Marinette sighed peacefully as she sat down.

"So, I've been thinking. Since you're new to this whole thing, I thought it'd be nice if you came around someday. Lulu and August could have a little playdate, make friends with each other, and I could teach you some more about how to look after her the best that I can," Summer went on. "It's the least that I can do for you when you've got work with your parents and school on top of raising her."

"Well, that's awfully generous of you to offer, Summer," said Marinette. "Right now, though, my schedule is pretty busy. Tomorrow, I promised Alya and the girls that I'd go out and help them with something very important. And the next five days after that, I'm gonna be in school, so I won't really have time for a playdate until next weekend."

"Fair enough. Take your time with it, Marinette. And don't be afraid to let me know when you have a space free," Summer replied.

"I'm sure that I can squeeze something in next weekend." Marinette folded her legs as she thought about the idea of Lulu having a friend to play with. "How about next Saturday just after lunch? That is, unless you're busy."

"Oh no, no no. I'm not busy at all on Saturdays. That sounds like a plan to me," Summer went on. "So. Should I come to your house or would you rather come to mine instead? Either way works, really."

"I think it'd be better if I could come to your house," said Marinette. "That way, I can see how you've managed to take care of August and see if there's anything that I can learn from the way you've got things all set up."

"Alright then. It's a playdate," said Summer, before she heard a whine coming from the distance. "Oh, I'm dreadfully sorry, Marinette. I've gotta take care of this, before my little angel gets drafted by those jerks again. See you later!"

"Take care, Summer." Marinette said, then hung up on Summer, returning her phone to her pocket. Her phone once again submerged in the depths of her pocket, Marinette made her way back over towards Lulu to see how she was getting along. She had just seen all six faces of the foam cube and tossed it away with a giddy giggle in her mouth as she watched the toy bounce on the edges, before coming to a stop by the ladder that lead up to Marinette's bed. "Hey, Lulu. How are you doing?" Marinette asked as she squatted down and plucked Lulu from the ground before she had the chance to crawl after the cube again.

Lulu spoke to Marinette as best as she could, but like all of the other times with her lack of teeth and cognition, it all came out as a muddled mess of gibberish nonsense.

"Aww, sounds like you're having fun up here." Marinette held Lulu close to her chest. As she did, she watched as Lulu cooed softly and pressed herself against Marinette's chest tenderly, nuzzling her caretaker's chest. "You know, Lulu, you're awfully sweet when you're like this. I know you don't understand what that means, but it's just nice to tell someone that." Marinette took Lulu over towards a chair, sat down in the chair, and set Lulu down on her lap.

Lulu reached for Marinette, moaning ever so slightly as she reached for her body. She wanted to be close to Marinette. That much could have been made out. But all of that quickly disappeared when Marinette did the next of many games to appease Lulu. For Lulu saw Marinette reaching for her nose, pinching it as gently as she could with her two fingers and sticking her thumb in the middle of said fingers. Lulu stopped her moans and reached for her face, touching it all over; mostly around her nose.

Marinette just chuckled. "Got your nose!" She sing-songed as she held the 'nose' towards Lulu's face.

Lulu, worried about her nose, flopped forward and tried to grab at Marinette's hand in an attempt to take back the 'nose' that she had lost. Despite her chubby, miniature size, Lulu was fast and Marinette barely had enough time to move her hand out of the way in time. This went on and on for a while, with Marinette repeating the words "Got your nose!" over and again in an attempt to draw Lulu's attention. And it was working. At last, Lulu grabbed Marinette's hand, pulled her thumb back to her nose, then let Marinette go again.

"You got it back! Oh, you're good, aren't you?" Marinette cheekily replied as she watched Lulu firmly place her 'nose' back onto her face. "You're good. And... rather ticklish too!" And as she said that, Marinette launched her fingers forward and tickled Lulu underneath her armpits, which just caused Lulu to burst out into laughter once again. "Aren't you just the most ticklish little girl there is? Yes you are! Yes you are..."

"Ooh! Ooh! Can I try, Marinette?" Tikki asked as she flitted down to Lulu's side. Because she was much smaller than Marinette and Lulu combined, Tikki had to use her entire arms in order to tickle Lulu, though she did so in the same area. "Coochie-coochie-coo!" She said as she tickled Lulu as much as she could have with her molecular digits. "This is fun!" Tikki remarked.

The tickling went on and on from both sides, until at last, both Marinette and Tikki stopped and giggled along with Lulu. The three of them went on for a good few minutes before Lulu finally calmed down and they all heard a knock from the hatch on the floor.

"Marinette? We've just finished up work for the day. Can we come in?" Sabine asked with another knock on the hatch.

"Uh s-sure, mom!" Marinette replied as Tikki zipped as fast as she could into Marinette's pouch out of sight.

Tom and Sabine both came into the room and saw Lulu resting on Marinette's laps. The sight of their daughter comforting the baby was enough to put the two of them at ease. They finally climbed into the room and made sure to watch their step around the toys scattered on the floor.

"So, Marinette. How have you and Lulu been?" Sabine was the first one to ask as she sat next to Marinette on the couch. "Are you feeling alright? Not too stressful?"

"No, mom. I'm feeling fine. Me and Lulu just went out today to do something important." Marinette replied as she turned her head towards Sabine. "Something... very important, actually." Marinette swallowed a lump in her throat. This would be the first step to accepting Lulu into the family; casting everything aside so she could tell them the truth.

"Well, Marinette. What did you do today?" Tom asked, laying a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "Was it something to do with Lulu, perchance?"

"Actually, now that you mention it, yes there is. I figured out who Lulu..." Marinette froze up for a second. She was about to explain the most alien thing her parents would have ever heard and she had nothing to go on but her experiences. "Actually, you might not believe me, mom and dad. This is so far out of the realm of possibility that it's impossible to believe."

"Well, of course we'll believe it if it comes from you, Marinette. You weren't raised on lies and secrets you know." Sabine gently pat Marinette on the back. "Just tell us what you want to tell us. I'm sure that we'll believe you."

"I know you will. But that's just because you're my parents." Marinette drooped her head, took a big sigh, and finally plucked up courage. "Today, I went to see Benigna Rossi; the girl who recently lost her daughter, Lila Rossi."

"Benigna?" Tom was the first to parrot. "But why? None of us know where Lila is, so what was the point of it?"

"Well, that's exactly the point. The other day, when you told me to go outside and get some fresh air, I ran into Max." This was it. Marinette couldn't believe that she was saying this, but she knew that she had come so far now to give up. Plus, it was better to say it now that she had the ball rolling, rather than just lie and let it grow. "Max got the results back to me the other day and we found out that this baby is... well, it's really, you're never gonna believe this, well, I mean unless you wanna believe it that is." Marinette was starting to struggle with wording it, so she reverted to her usual spastic wording whenever she got nervous or frantic. She breathed in and out again. "This baby is actually Lila Rossi."

"Wait, what?!" Sabine's eyes were the first to go wide at the reveal of the truth.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me, but it's the purest and honest truth. I let him snip off some of Lulu's hair and he took it back for a DNA test. And you know how into science and research Max Kante is." Marinette rolled her hand. "His tests don't lie. This really is Lila Rossi in the flesh. She was magically age-regressed down after Ladybug's Miraculous Ladybugs after Matriarch—y'know, the supervillain who turned people into babies with her bazooka?—was defeated."

"But then... shouldn't Ladybug's powers have fixed her too?" Tom asked, eyeing up Lulu more closely. "It's not right that she's still a baby while everyone else is back to normal."

"I know, dad. Me and Max have been stressing out about this since the moment we discovered the truth. But trust me. I'm not insane. This is the actual honest-to-goodness truth," Marinette threw her arms out to the side as a defensive gesture. "I never lie to you. I didn't want to lie to you by not telling you the truth. This is the actual truth."

"It's still hard to grasp. Like, it's physically impossible for someone to be turned back into a baby like this." Sabine picked Lulu up and held her gently in her hands. Not even Lulu's smiling face could relieve the tension she was feeling. "This is like something out of some weird movie or something..."

"That's exactly what Benigna thought. When I tried to bring Lila back to her in this state, she got apprehensive about it and denied me the chance to give her back, saying that there was nothing in the world that would convince her that Lulu is actually Lila." Marinette felt guilty as she hung her head before her parents. "She reacted the same way that you two did, and she chose not to accept the truth. And now... because of it, we can't return Lila to her parents. She's stuck here with us." Despite Marinette's plans being laid out, she was still feeling heavy as she looked into the eyes of both Tom and Sabine.

"I know. I know what you're thinking. You don't wanna keep a baby that isn't yours. But we can't give her back in this state. And there's nothing that anyone can do about it, really. Scientists haven't even worked on this, Ladybug won't just accept this case, and I doubt that there'd be any supervillain attacks that return her to normal either." Marinette sniffled ever so slightly and felt some tears rolling out of her eyes. She did her best not to cry in this current state, but her emotions were showing, and Tom and Sabine were both witnesses to her sorrow. As her tears dribbled down her hands, Tom and Sabine felt the tension vanish gradually. Seeing someone confess the truth and cry about it wasn't exactly a rare circumstance for them, but the fact that it was their own daughter of all people who was doing this over a truth that seemed impossible left a lasting impression on both of them. Suddenly, it didn't feel so wrong for Marinette to have said what was on her mind or the truth about Lila Rossi's disappearance.

"Oh, Marinette..." Sabine could only reach over Marinette's back and pull her into a sideways hug. "You've been so brave to deal with this the way that you have. I'm sorry that you've had to stress all about this on your own."

"Wh-what?" Marinette asked, pulling her tear-ridden eyes from her hands. "What do you mean, mom?"

"This baby stuff's come as a shock to all of us; and I think it's hit you the most of all. I mean, to receive a baby all on your lonesome, to know who it really is, and for it to be tied into the disappearance of Lila Rossi as well. I'm surprised that you haven't broken down from all of this stress; especially with Hawkmoth still on the loose in the middle of it all."

"Yeah. You've been especially brave to handle all of this yourself and to avoid one of those nasty Akumas coming down to turn all of that stress into a new supervillain," Tom added as he gave Marinette a pat on the back for all of her work. "And hey, now that you have some kind of control over this again, I'm even more proud that you came out and spoke your mind about this."

"Indeed. There's no shame in sharing what's on your mind, Marinette," Sabine added. "I will admit that the situation is a little bit unorthodox and unprecedented, but there is nothing much that we can do about it. And it would be heartless to just throw Lila away like this; especially in the state that she's in. It... is legal to do that, right? To look after someone else's baby like this?"

"The law states that a child has to be legally adopted and transferred to a new family. But that proceedure is completely invalid if the parents of that child are cruel or uninterested," Marinette explained. "So, because Benigna didn't want to take Lila back, that means she is disinterested and therefore we can raise Lila—or Lulu—however we want."

"I didn't know about that rule." Tom blinked a couple of times. "Well, it's true. I'll show you right now, as a matter of fact," Marinette went over to the computer, logged in, and hastily typed in a search on the laws of adoption. As she typed away, Tom and Sabine came over, with Sabine holding Lulu gently in her hands. "See? It's right here." Marinette held down the left button on the mouse and highlighted exactly what she had been saying in blue. "Lulu's ours because Benigna didn't take her back."

"Well then." Sabine blinked as she read the rule again and again in her mind. "I didn't know that was a law until now. Probably because we never thought about the rules and laws of adoption before..."

"Now we know, don't we, honey?" Tom chimed in as he looked at the rule. "In that case, this seems a lot less awkward now, doesn't it?"

"It does seem a little bit awkward, though. Raising someone who's not even our own child." Sabine said, looking down at Lulu, who just looked up to her in response. "Still, this is the bed that's been made, so we have to lie in it. And Marinette's been doing such a good job of keeping Lila safe in her current situation. But still, stranger things have happened."

"Yeah. No stranger than a train driver taking Marinette's class to literal outer space or the entire city being frozen over in the middle of July." Tom brushed the back of his head. "When you really think about it, given all of the many Hawkmoth attacks, this has been one of the less strange things to happen to this town." Tom put his hand on Lulu's chest, which made her give off another coo and reach for his big, meaty hands. She planted her palm on his hand gently. "Still, I am sorry for Benigna. And for all of the students in class worrying about Lila right about now."

"I know... But we'll do what we can to see this through." Marinette stood up from her computer chair and laid her hand on Lulu's chest. And as she did, she watched as Lulu's other hand reached out and curled around Marinette's fingers affectionately. "And personally, I do kinda feel good being the big sister to Lulu." Marinette blushed at each cheek.

"I'm sure that you do feel good. And who can blame you, Marinette?" Sabine remarked. "Who wouldn't when they're caring for such an innocent little girl like this? Even if she's one of your classmates from school."

"Mom... No need to keep on saying it." Marinette's blush retained, but for different reasons as the tips of her toes brushed the ground.

"Whatever the case, it'll be a little bit of a shock to the system, but I'm sure that we'll manage. After all, we had to take care of you and run the bakery at the same time when you were a baby. I'm sure that we can handle this now that you're all grown up, Marinette." Tom gave Lulu back to Marinette and folded his arms proudly. "If anything, it makes this whole thing easier for all of us. Both of us can run the bakery and you can take care of Lila."

"Yeah." Marinette nodded, but she knew that her schedule wouldn't be the same again for a long, long time, if at all. She still had her secret life as Ladybug as well on top of it, but did her best to seem confident and in control of the whole situation. "It's in our hands now. And so are you." Marinette tousled Lulu's hair, which made her coo once again. "Welcome to the family..." And with those words, everything was sealed. Lila was now in Marinette's care and the care of her family. Her conscience and her minds were cleared, and now she felt a lot of tension be lifted off of her shoulders. But she knew that there were still a lot more steps she needed to take before this came normal. Still, baby steps, as they said. Baby steps.


	12. In Which Time Goes On

**2 Years Later...**

* * *

Marinette knocked on the door of a certain house in the 8th arrondissement. Lulu was travelling with her, only she wasn't in that tiny basket anymore. She was starting to grow, and because of that, she now rested in a little pink pushchair with a belt around her chest keeping her secure in it. There was a small pouch underneath it where Marinette kept some supplies on hand in case Lulu had one of her little accidents while she was here. Lulu might have been getting older and was close to starting her toilet training, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Lulu herself had also gone through a little makeover. Her hair had grown and it was now tied up in a pair of little buns; one on each side. She now wore a pink skirt that reached down to her waist with a pink shirt just tucked underneath it. A pair of pink boots rested on her feet and were snugly fit so that she wouldn't kick them off unless she undid the strap. Something impossible for her to do because not only did the pushchair keep her in place, but her arms were too short to reach down to her feet in the chair.

"Oh, Marinette! Welcome!" said Summer as the door was pulled open. "You look well today," she said as she stepped aside and let Marinette come in.

"Thank you, Summer. I do try my best," Marinette said as she pushed the chair inside, undid the belt, and let Lulu clamber out of it. She watched as Lulu waddled off into the house, looking for someone. Once she was moving, Marinette did her best to fold the chair and prop it gently by the walls, before she and Summer went to the living room together. "So, how have you and August been doing recently?"

"Oh, you know. The usual. Same-old, same-old," Summer went on as she and Marinette made it to a room with teal-coloured walls. It had a pair of couches, a coffee table between the couches and a large TV, a table with some doodles and crayons on it, and there was a window on the other end with some Venetian blinds opened to let the light in. "Still, I am thankful that little August is getting older now. It's less of a hassle trying to juggle his needs."

"Hmm. How old does that make him now?" Marinette asked as she watched Lulu moving towards a door on the left. "Three-ish?"

"He's going to turn four in a few months, actually," Summer replied as she and Marinette made their way to Lulu and the door. "And with how he's been talking a lot more recently, I'd say that I can get him into a pre-school pretty soon. Give it a couple of months and I'm sure that I can find a place that's perfect for him."

"Four? Well, time flies, doesn't it?" Marinette exclaimed with a little chuckle.

It had been two years since that fateful day, and Marinette firmly believed that a lot of things had changed since she had taken in Lulu. She and Max had done their best to tell the people at her school that she now had a little sister of her own, but the rest of the details were so sloppy that many of the students, while they did take in what she said, decided to take the rest of the information with a grain of salt. Still, they all welcomed Lulu into her life—or rather, most of them did. Marinette could still remember Chloe scoffing under her breath, saying something along the lines of "Oh great. Now there are TWO Dupain-Chengs."

And that was just on the topic of Lulu. There had also been quite a few developments in the war against Hawkmoth and Mayura as well. It seemed like so long ago that Marinette had first received the Ladybug Miraculous and the day that she was designated as the Guardian for the Miracle Box. And it had been just as she theorised. There had been numerous other villains that rose to power after she found Lulu; some of them born from old faces that she revered and reviled. The first one was what Marinette had been curious about, not for the story, but for what the Miraculous Ladybugs would have done to Lulu. Still, Lulu was unaffected by the magic when all was said and done, so it just solidified the fact that she was now her little sister.

"Yeah. Time does fly." Summer gave Marinette a nod as she opened the door to let Lulu walk inside.

August's room had walls that had been painted bright blue with clouds dotted along with it. There were even a few planes in the distance that were leaving a cloudy vapour trail in their wake that spelt out August's name. The bed that he slept in was small to accommodate his size, but it had a blue frame and mattress, with the bedsheets depicting a cartoon character—one that Marinette could only assume that August enjoyed watching on TV. There was also a large teddy bear on that bed, one that August usually cuddled up with every night. Some plastic frames held boxes both made from cloth and plastic, with different toys tucked away inside. There was a large rug on the floor that depicted a bird's eye view of a town with cars on the roads. And in the corner of the room, there was a small plastic table with some pieces of paper and some crayons on them. One of the plastic chairs was occupied, however, and August was sitting at it scrawling some things down on a new sheet of paper. August himself was now wearing a plain blue shirt with navy-coloured shorts. His hair had also grown a little.

"August? Little Lulu's here to see you," said Summer, which pulled August from his little sketches.

As soon as he saw Lulu coming towards him, he let out a gasp and ran from his chair to meet her. "Lulu!" he called, pulling her into a tiny hug which made her giggle ever so slightly.

"Auga!" Lulu replied. She didn't even know that she had misspoken his name, but neither August nor Lulu seemed to mind about that. They were just toddlers, after all. As long as they knew who the other was, it didn't matter.

"You're back!" August beamed from cheek to cheek. He and Lulu had been through quite a few playdates since they first met, and although he couldn't remember most of them, he still had fond memories of playing with Lulu. "I did something for you! Follow me!" He scampered back to the table and saw Lulu chasing after him. He took a seat again and showed his latest picture to Lulu, which depicted a—very crude and stick-like—rendition of August and Lulu playing together in a grassy field. "Look! Look! It's us!"

Lulu cooed and leaned over the picture. It took her a few seconds for the image to click, but as soon as she realised what it was, she eagerly slapped the paper repeatedly with a giggle in her voice. "Me! Me! Ma-wa-ne! Look!" Lulu turned to Marinette and made a gesture with her arms to beckon Marinette over to see the picture of herself and August. "Me!"

"That's right, Lulu. It is you." Marinette gently tousled Lulu's hair, which made her chuckle even more. "You're getting good at that drawing stuff, aren't you, August?"

"Mmhmm." He nodded. "Mommy said that my drawings are the bestest she's ever seen! Right, mommy?"

"Oh, of course, my little sweetums. And you're only gonna get better and better at them if you keep at it," Summer replied with a motherly smile on her face. "Now then, I and Marinette need to have some talking in the big-people part of the house. If you or Lulu need anything, don't be afraid to knock on the door.

"Okay!" August replied.

"Play nice with Lulu, August. And you play nice with August, Lulu," Marinette told Lulu as she backed up to the door, watching as Lulu walked wobbly over to another seat and picked up some crayons that she liked the look of. And it wasn't long before she was doodling away just like August was. Once she saw that both of the kids were lost in their playtimes, she closed the door and walked with Summer back to the living room couches.

August was a simple child with a simple, steadily-growing mind. He hadn't been on this world for as long as his mommy or her big friend had been, but he was starting to put himself together. He could barely remember anything about his infant years—most likely because he was only just starting to develop some semblance of memory. After all, he remembered his mommy, he remembered Lulu, and he remembered who he was and what he liked doing. But that was merely the surface of what he knew. To him, he was completely oblivious that, in the time that had past, he had been drafted into some sociopathic supervillain's rank and file multiple times without remembering any of it. As far as he knew, the only reason he knew about Hawkmoth was whenever mommy saw him doing bad things on the news, but even then the name meant nothing to him. At least, nothing that he knew of.

Lulu, on the other hand, was starting to develop in general. Sure, she was still in her pre-toddler days, so she was still wearing some form of a diaper on her rump, but she was starting to talk and understand things better. It was a very loose understanding and she couldn't exactly talk at the level that August was talking, but she was still capable of getting some kind of cohesive sentence out. Much like August, she didn't know much about anything in her past; she probably wasn't even aware that two years ago, she was a teenage girl with a penchant for lying. All that she knew was that she was Lulu Dupain-Cheng; Marinette Dupain-Cheng's little sister. And Marinette and her mommy and daddy loved her very much. And that was enough to make Lulu content with herself. Well, that, and all of the fun and games that she was having as a little toddler could have.

After Lulu finished her drawing of a sloppy flower, her eyes caught something. One of the boxes that were slotted into the furniture. Cooing to herself, she tilted her head and walked over to it. She hummed a tuneless song to herself as she grabbed the box's holes with her tiny fingers and pulled it out gently. And once she did, her eyes lit up with glee. For inside the box, there were some toys to play with. There were toy cars, a ball, some blocks, some stuffed animals, and more. It was a treasure chest of wonder and delight for Lulu and she squealed in elation at the sight of it all.

"Look at this, Lulu!" August had just gotten finished with a crude picture of a cloud and presented it to the blank space where Lulu once sat. "Lulu?" August looked around briefly to find Lulu, then noticed that she was at his toys. He got off of his chair and went over to see her, and that she was fixated on the toys inside. "Lulu. Those are my toys," he chuckled lightly as he gently pulled her away from the box. "You're so silly sometimes."

"Nu! Play!" Lulu moaned as she struggled to fight against August's grip. She flailed around for a few moments before she wriggled out of his grasp and back to the box of toys. Her eagerness got the better of her as she, without his permission, took out a stuffed lion and cuddled it close to her chest.

"Lulu. Those are my toys." August tried to reach for the bear, but Lulu, being the territorial toddler that she was, simply made a high-pitched moan and turned away from August, petting the fluffy mane of the toy lion gently. "Mommy got them for me; not you."

"But... Fluffy." Lulu replied as she kept on caressing the lion plushie. "I like fluffy."

"But it's mine!" August wailed, throwing his arms out to the side. He didn't like it when other people just took his things without his notice; especially when he had been busy with something else.

"Play!" Lulu retorted with her own, high-pitched toddler whine as she clutched the stuffed animal harder, bracing for August to try to steal it from her.

But seeing that Lulu would not budge, nor react to what he was saying, August needed to think of something to do to take Lulu away from the toys. His tiny, three-year-old looked around for something that Lulu would love to play with. He noticed a ball tucked away in the corner and rushed off to it, leaving Lulu behind momentarily. August grabbed the ball and, as best as he could, wandered back towards Lulu.

"Lulu! Look!" August said as he took the ball and threw it lightly into the air. It bounced up and down on the spot; its' beguiling colours already commanding August's attention. Almost immediately, he had completely forgotten that Lulu was playing with his toys.

Lulu, while she was still holding the plushie lion watched as the ball bounced over and over again. The way that the green, blue, and yellow pattern sprung on the spot and shifted was very hypnotic. She let out a soft, dulcet coo as she watched it bounce, bounce, and bounce some more. Standing up again, Lulu took one step towards the ball, then another, and then one more. As it finally stopped bouncing, Lulu touched the ball; freeing one of her arms from the toy in her hands. And as she touched it, the ball bounced towards August, who held out a hand and pushed it slightly backwards. The ball stopped at her feet. Lulu reached down for the ball, dropping the lion toy in the process.

Lulu chuckled to herself as she lifted the ball high and threw it to the ground. It started to bounce again, and the angle that she had bounced it at made it go over August's head. Lulu toddled wobbly towards the ball, grinning from ear to ear as she let herself get carried away with this new, colourful toy. Running off after the ball with glee, it wasn't long before she caught it again and cuddled with it tight. But as she cuddled, the ball slipped out of her grasp and fell to the ground again. Cooing, she reached down for the ball again and, as she tried to grab it, the ball popped out of her grip and bounded across the floor again.

August seized the opportunity to take the lion toy that Lulu had been playing with and put it back into the box, storing it away for later. "There we go. Nice and comfy," said August as he pushed the box back into the slot. Now that the problem had been dealt with, he turned back to Lulu and watched as she chased the ball around. It did look like Lulu was having a lot of fun. Too much fun for August to want to be left out. He rushed off as fast as his legs could take him and raced after Lulu and the ball.

Their little ball game went on for a while until, at last, Lulu accidentally let the ball bounce around a bit much and it hit one of the boxes. The noise of the fast-moving ball colliding with the box was abrupt and it made her cringe in horror. Taking a sudden step back, she looked at the boxes, worried about the noise that it made. She stopped moving around and eventually, Lulu became exceptionally shy. She took a small step towards the box, worried that it would make another horrid noise that would frighten her. Another step and no noise came at all. She was still apprehensive about it, though, and as she took one last step, she was within touching distance of the boxes.

"Wha?" Lulu asked as she reached out for another one of the boxes and tugged on it as hard as her tiny hand would let her. But even then, the box only slightly budged from its' place. Lulu knew that it would take more than her strength to open this box, so she turned towards August, who was still trying to keep with the ball and called "Auga! Auga! Help!"

August heard Lulu calling out for him so he stopped. And he saw Lulu tugging at the box letting out grunting noises as she put all of her strength into pulling the box out of its' slot. He sped over to her side and said, "What's wrong, Lulu?"

Lulu tried to pull again, whining. "Auga. Help. Boxie." Lulu said, tugging and yanking as hard as she could.

August put his hands on the box as well and pulled along with Lulu. Their combined strength was enough to shift the box. The two toddlers pulled it out of the slot and revealed the contents. August knew it all too well, but Lulu was entranced by what was inside. There were a bunch of clothes inside, all folded neatly. Lulu pulled out the first thing on the top of the pile and saw that it was a full-green onesie with a hood that had fabric petals pointing out of it, looking like a flower. She squealed at the sight of the clothes and threw it all around her, trying to have fun with the clothes. But sadly, she wasn't at that stage where she could dress, so the most that she could do was hold it in her hands and look at the pretty flower-like design.

August simply took the next piece of clothing on the stack and unfolded it. For him, he was holding what looked like a purple onesie that had a floppy tail poking out of the back. And on the back and tail of that onesie, there were some floppy fabric spines. It looked like a dinosaur outfit. August simply looked at the clothing and smiled. If he ever wanted to dress up, he could simply go and ask his mommy to help him put it on. He was at the age where he could at least tell Summer exactly what he wanted. He looked back at Lulu and got an idea. After all, if she was having fun with the clothes, then so could he.

* * *

Meanwhile, Marinette and Summer were sitting on the sofa, with cups of tea sitting delicately on the coffee table. The two of them had spoken quite a few times by now. And when they weren't sharing tips on how to raise toddlers, they were gossiping about their lives. Marinette usually had more to say than Summer, mostly because of her bakery and her school life. She was just about to give Summer another update on how she and her classmates were doing.

"So, Marinette. How has your school life been?" Summer was the first one to ask. In the middle of raising a kid, working at her parents' bakery, and school, Summer thought that Marinette had an awful lot on her plate.

"Eh. Same old, same old." Marinette rocked her hand from left to right, fingers splayed outwards. "Alya's still working on that Ladyblog. Can't believe that it's almost about to be three years old." Marinette sighed. In the three years that she had been Ladybug, everything had been thrown for a loop. She was once an ordinary girl living a normal life. She never thought that she would ever have been a superhero. But here she was. Getting older and older, Ladybug Miraculous still in her possession and Hawkmoth still on the loose. She'd stopped counting the days had it not been for Alya's blog.

"And what about your classmates?" Summer probed. "I heard that there's a roller derby tournament coming to Paris. Maybe your friend Alix could sign up?"

"The Wheels of Steel? Oh yeah, Alix kept talking on and on about how she was going to be taking part in that first chance she could get. The only problem is, she's gotta find a crew that she can blade with," Marinette explained. "I do like Alix, but this Wheels of Steel thing seems incredibly dangerous. I mean, I'm no expert in rollerskating, but I have heard that it can get pretty gruesome fast."

"But if Alix has been roller skating like this for a while now, I'd imagine that she'd do good in that competition. And it's a team-based tournament, so if Alix finds some good friends to play it with, then she'll do great," said Summer. "Sure, there's a chance she'll get bumps and bruises, but she's a grown teenager now. She'll be fine."

"Yeah. It's just that... well, I like looking out for everyone," Marinette replied. "Whenever someone's feeling down, they're faced with adversity, or they just need someone to talk to, I'm always there to give them a helping hand." She knew that it wasn't just for their benefit, but her own as well. Even two years on, Hawkmoth was still present. So Ladybug couldn't afford to take any chances. She wanted to make sure that everyone was happy to avoid akumatisations. For all she knew, even at her age, the battle wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

"It is a very nice kind of mindset to have, Marinette. Putting yourself before everything else and offering a hand to anyone who needs it," Summer couldn't help but smile. She only knew how to raise August, so she couldn't even imagine what it was like looking out for everyone else around her. "I'm sure that your parents must be very proud of you. And on top of this, you've also got Lulu. Your plate must be very full. How do you keep it all together?"

"Oh, I have my ways," Marinette said, but deep down, she felt a little bit awkward. She knew that there was one more thing that she did that Summer would have had no clue about so to add that on top of everything would have broken her indeed.

"Well, Marinette. Since we're on the subject of it, what are your plans for raising Lulu?" Summer asked, leaning over towards Marinette. "She's still only two years old, so there's still plenty of opportunities. To quote one of my friends from when I was at school: The best thing about babies is that they're a blank canvas. Waiting for their parents to paint the way to their future."

"That sounds... prolific," Marinette had never heard that kind of terminology when it came to babies before. But then again, she hadn't met Summer until two years ago. And even then, she still knew who she was from the few times that she had been tasked with de-evilising her son. "Well, however you look at it, you are right, Summer. I can do anything with Lulu. The only question now, though, is what do I do with her?"

All of a sudden, Marinette's train of thought was derailed as both she and Summer heard a knocking on the door to Summer's room. Immediately, her newly-blossoming maternal instincts kicked in, as did Summer's. Both of them got up from their seats and made their way to the door as fast as they could and opened it wide. They looked down and saw August standing politely in the doorway, clutching gently onto his outfit. Just behind him, Lulu had grown bored of throwing her clothes around and just sat on the floor, humming tunelessly to herself as she made the clothes dance daintily.

"Mommy? Can you dress me up?" August held the dinosaur outfit up to Marinette and Summer.

"Oh, of course, sweetie." Summer knelt and picked August up, carrying him over to the bed.

That allowed Marinette to walk into the room. She picked Lulu up and heard as she made a coo of delight as she locked eyes with her big sister again. "Hey, Lulu? Do you wanna play dress-up too?"

Lulu looked over to see Summer opening up the clothes and, as gently as she could, putting August into it. Once he was inside and the clothes sealed up, it made it so that August now looked like a dinosaur, with his head sticking out of the mouth of the great beast. Lifting a brow at what August had become, she looked down at the clothes in her hand, then up to Marinette. She gave a little nod, making noises of glee as she did.

"Alright, then. Hold on tight!" Marinette said, then playfully carried Lulu over, deliberately making swooping motions to make it seem like Lulu was flying through the air. That immediately made Lulu giggle, as it was one of her more fun things to do with Marinette now that she was older. The flight came to an end as Lulu was sat down next to August. This was done so that Marinette could open up the flower suit. Once that was done, she picked Lulu back up and saw Summer hold the clothes open for her. Marinette stuck Lulu down the flower outfit and closed it up so that it now made Lulu look like a walking flower, with her face being the thing that sprouted all of the fabric petals. "Aww, look at you, Lulu! My little sunflower!" Marinette cooed as she admired Lulu's new threads.

"You look really pretty, Lulu." August was the next one to comment as he looked at Lulu's new outfit.

Lulu looked at herself in the nearest mirror that she could and when she saw her new clothes, she excitedly said, "Flowa! Flowa!" Clapping her hands in delight and giggling at her new form. She squirmed off the bed and waddled towards the mirror. She put her hand against the glass and beamed at herself.

"Aww..." Marinette had to admit to herself, Lila as a little girl was one of the cuter sights she had seen. Even when she was two years under the effects of Matriarch's powers, she was still able to capture Marinette's heart every time. Lila would have never been able to do that if it was under any other circumstance. But this wasn't Lila. Not anymore. This was Lulu Dupain-Cheng. Marinette's new little sister. Or at least, that's what she kept on telling herself to live with the truth.

"Ma-wa-ne! Look!" Lulu turned back towards Marinette at last. "Me flowa!" She threw her arms out to the side.

"Yes, Lulu. You are." Marinette squatted down and tousled the top of Lulu's head, which ruffled her hair underneath the clothing. "You're one of the best little flowers I've ever seen."

"Come on, Lulu! Let's play some more!" August jumped off of the bed and hurried over to Lulu's side. Once he made it up to Lulu's side, he made a playful growling noise which just made Lulu chuckle and scamper off, trying to get away from the 'dinosaur' that was chasing her. Once she sped off, August just laughed and raced after Lulu.

"They're adorable, aren't they?" Summer asked as Marinette watched August and Lulu playing chase with each other, with Lulu trying her very best to get away as best as her tiny legs could carry her.

"They are." Marinette nodded as the two children played on. In the back of her mind, she could already see Lulu and August becoming great friends when they got older. But only time would tell whether or not this friendship was fated to last. But for the present, it was exceptionally soothing for Marinette to know that Lulu already had a friend that she could bond with as the years went by. It was the first step on the load road to Lila Rossi's redemption. And, under Marinette's care, it certainly wouldn't be the last.


	13. In Which Lulu Dupain-Cheng Makes Some 'Bigger' Friends

It was a sunny afternoon in the city of Paris, and Marinette was taking Lulu out to play. August wasn't the only friend that Lulu had made, even though he was one of the few who was around her age if a little bit older than her by a year or so. Aside from the few other kids that August knew meeting Lulu occasionally, Marinette had also introduced Lulu to her circle of friends. Unfortunately, that was when Lulu was merely a baby, and therefore had no memory of any of them. Now, she was going to change that. Surely, playing around with them would be able to put a smile on her face.

"Ma-wa-ne? Where we goin'?" Lulu asked, trying to get a good look at Marinette from her pushchair, to no avail.

"We're going to be seeing some of my friends, Lulu," Marinette explained as simply as she could. "They're just as big as me, but don't be frightened by that. None of them would ever want to hurt you."

Lulu just grinned. If Marinette had some friends, then she knew that they would be friendly to her. She eagerly awaited seeing Marinette's friends for the second—or in her case with her developing mind—the first time.

Marinette turned a corner and there were all of her friends waiting in the middle of the grassy field. Rose Lavillant with her hair tied back into a ponytail, Juleka Couffaine with a hair clip holding some hair over the eye that had always remained obscured, Mylene Haprele with her hair grown longer than usual, Alix, who was wearing an athletic t-shirt with some skinny jeans on her legs, and Alya with her arms folded and looking the most normal out of the lot. The only thing that changed was her height. Once she detected them, she drove the pushchair towards them.

"Now, Lulu. If you ever need me, don't be afraid to call," Marinette reminded her, looking down at Lulu from above.

"Mmhmm." Lulu cooed as she gave Marinette a gentle nod.

The first out of the group of friends to take notice of Marinette was Rose. She gave Marinette a signalling wave as she watched her friend trundle over with Lulu's chair in hand. It didn't take her long to tap the arms of the others to draw their attention to Marinette and Lulu.

"Ayyyy! There she is!" Alix was the first one of them to speak as they took their steps towards Marinette. "Hey, Mari. How's it hanging?"

"I'm fine, Alix. Thanks for asking," Marinette replied.

"Alright. Cool." Alix turned her focus to the little bundle of joy in the chair. "And how's our little Lulu doing?" She tousled Lulu's hair as gently as she could, which made Lulu giggle cheerily.

"Aww... she's still just as cute as ever." Rose clasped her hands, then placed them on her knees as she bent down to Lulu's height. "Aren't you? Aren't you just the cutesiest widdle girl there ever was?" Rose's words devolved into gibberish as she pinched Lulu's cheeks and massaged her tenderly. Lulu, still chuckling, reached out for Rose eagerly. She wanted to play with this girl the most out of them all.

"You still treating Lulu good, Marinette?" Alya asked, leaning over. "Making sure she's fed, clean, and happy? That's how we handled the Twins when they were her age."

"I know, I know." Marinette rolled her eyes with a smile. It had been two years since she had taken Lulu under her care, and Alya had made sure that Marinette knew exactly what she was doing when it came to handling children. Whenever Marinette had any issues with Lulu, whether she was a baby or at her current age, Alya was always the first girl that she would turn to when it came to helping. "Y'know, I think I'm starting to get the hang of this, Alya."

"You say that, but when I was a little girl, the Twins were exceptionally crazy." Alya crossed her arms. "If you thought they were wild already, be glad you weren't there when they were small. Always getting into fights, whining, making a mess, it's a wonder that Mom and Dad handled them and me all at once."

"Well, Marinette's lucky then that she just has Lulu to deal with," said Mylene, who looked down on Lulu as she was already playing with Rose. Even though she was still bound to her seat, Lulu was enjoying trying to grab onto Rose and play with her face or her other appendages. "Two-year-olds are much easier to deal with than babies; especially when they start to think more."

"True dat." Juleka gave a nod as she scooted in next to Rose. "I'm still surprised that, out of everyone, it's Marinette who ended up with a kid of her own first. And she didn't even get to marry anyone yet." Juleka grinned as she watched Lulu's warm smile project an air of tranquillity and peace. Juleka bathed in the atmosphere for an instant before turning to Marinette. "Strange. Would've thought you'd have a kid _after_ you married Adrien—not before."

"W-well, you know how it is. Life is strange." Marinette just pushed her fingertips together. Two years on and she was still very embarrassed about the fact that she hadn't made any major advances in the ordeal with winning over Adrien's heart. Even now, she was self-conscious about her position and how it would affect her chances of getting together with him. Rather than dwell on it, she went over to Lulu and released her from the belt that was keeping her in her chair, plucking Lulu out of it. "Why don't we let you out to play now, Lulu?"

"Come on now, Lulu. Come to Cousin Rosie." Rose clapped her hands to try and summon Lulu over as Marinette set her down on the grass and let her toddle her way over. "That's right, that's it. Come on!"

As Marinette watched Lulu playing with Rose, she took the time to head over to the back of the pushchair and pull some items out. She picked up a basket and a red and white blanket that had been folded neatly up. The items in her hand, she rested the pushchair against the nearby park bench, then went to find a nice place for her to lay them both down. The blanket went down first and was unfolded wide. Then Marinette placed the basket on top and opened it up, revealing some food and drinks inside.

"Almost there, Lulu. Just a few more steps and..." Rose saw Lulu make the last steps towards her, then when she got to her legs, Rose scooped her from the ground and lifted her high. "Wheeee! You did it, Lulu!" Rose exclaimed as she held Lulu close to her chest, the toddler tittering all the while. "You're so good at this kind of thing, aren't you?"

"Hey, Rose. Don't hog Lulu all for yourself," Mylene spoke as she walked over to Rose's side, laying a hand down on Lulu's belly.

"Oh, I know, I know. I just think that when it comes to little kids, you've gotta be as playful as you can be," Rose explained as she tickled Lulu's armpits, causing more giggles to erupt from Lulu. "Because whenever they're laughing like this, it means you're doing something right."

"Oh yeah. Remember when we were kids, Rose?" Juleka asked, putting her hands together. "You always used to say that the day wasn't done until you went to bed with the biggest, most super-duper smile ever."

"Well, that's because it was true, Juleka. Sure, everything else around the day was fun, but unless you went to bed smiling, then it wasn't a good day," Rose went on as she gave Lulu over to Mylene. "That's why mom and dad always played these last little games with me when I was young; to make me happy before sending me off to dreamland." She sighed in contentment. "Hey, you think Marinette does the same for Lulu?"

"I'd like to imagine that she does. A girl like her and a kid like Lulu? It's like bread and butter," Alix looked over her shoulder to see Marinette setting up the picnic. "Plus, you've also gotta take into account that Marinette's handled kids before. Remember Manon and Chris? Two squirts that're full of energy and Marinette handles them without any hitches. So a two-year-old like Lulu? No problem. Marinette's already got past the baby part, so the rest should be a breeze."

"You say that, but kids are unpredictable." Mylene gently brushed Lulu's cheeks with her finger. Lulu reached up and grabbed Mylene's finger and caressed it like a teddy bear, cooing to herself as she looked up into Mylene's warm eyes.

"Tell me about it." Alya pushed her hands together. "Even now, the Twins are awfully hard to keep in check. And they're gonna be starting high school soon!" Alya's hand tipped downward. "Man, I feel sorry for every teacher who has to put up with them. They mean well, but still..."

"Oh, I'm sure they'll have learned to control themselves. After all, they're very close to their teenage years. They're not exactly little kids anymore," Rose explained.

"I know, I know. But Ella and Etta have a long-standing history of causing mischief, then always blaming it on their 'imaginary friends'," Alya shuddered.

"Oh, don't remind me." Alix's eye twitched at the thought of it all. "When Hawkmoth let the Sapotis loose, I couldn't even sleep that night. All the noise, chaos, and pandemonium. It was like I'd been sucked into a horror movie of some sort. Thank **GOD** that Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Rena Rouge were able to clear that mess up."

"Speaking of which, Hawkmoth's not made a move in a while, has he?" Juleka looked into the skies. Clear as could be, with not a cloud in sight. "I'm hoping that he's learnt that Ladybug and Cat Noir can't be beaten no matter what he tries to pull. Might as well live up the peace while we still can. Lord only knows when we'll catch a break like this again..."

"Lulu! Food's ready!" Marinette called from the distance, waving her hand in the air. "Come to me, girl!"

"Well, you heard Marinette. Down you go, Lulu." Mylene set Lulu back on the ground and watched as she scampered over without any hesitation.

Lulu wasted no time in returning to Marinette. Even with a few trips and stumbles, she was still smiling as she finally collided with Marinette's legs and wrapped her arms around them. She rubbed them for a little bit until Marinette lifted her. Before Lulu could even say anything, she felt her tummy rumble. She immediately planted both palms of her hands onto her belly.

"I knew you'd want something to eat after all that excitement," Marinette sat Lulu down and rummaged through the basket. The first thing that she procured was a shallow plastic box with a pink lid. Inside it was a bunch of apple and carrot slices, each one small enough for Lulu to nibble on without having to make her open her jaw wider than it needed to be. Another box was revealed, and inside of it were some small grapes and cherry tomatoes. Some more boxes were picked out but weren't opened yet.

"Food! Food!" Lulu called out as she reached out eagerly for the box of grapes and tomatoes. Her tiny fingers were already trying to get at the food. She took out handfuls of the food, but before she could stick any of it in her mouth, Marinette stopped her by grasping her hand.

"Now, Lulu. What do I always say?" Marinette asked, looking deeply into Lulu's eyes. "One at a time. If you eat too much, you'll hurt your little tummy and then you'll be crying all day long." Marinette took all of the food out of Lulu's hand, then reclaimed one of the tomatoes. Holding it in front of Lulu's face, she brought it closer to her mouth. "Now open wide. Here comes the plane!"

Lulu opened her mouth wide, saying "Ahhhhh..." All the while as Marinette brought the tomato to Lulu's little mouth. At last, the food made contact with Lulu's lips and tongue. With her tiny teeth, Lulu pierced through the skin of the tomato and bit down to the juices inside. The taste danced around her mouth as she chewed and chewed, before finally swallowing it. She let out a sigh, then looked up to Marinette as she repeated the whole process with a grape this time. Once again, Lulu, entirely invested in the concept of eating food, bit through the grape and felt the juices spray around her mouth. Another wave of chewing followed by a swallow and Lulu beamed from ear to ear.

"Awwwwww..." The other girls could only watch as Marinette fed Lulu to the best of her abilities. Sure, it was an adorable sight no matter who the kid was, but the fact that it was Marinette and Lulu of all people made it extra special.

"Well, what are you waiting for? An invitation?" Marinette turned to the others. "Come on and join us. I've got plenty of food for everyone." Marinette patted the blanket with her hand, beckoning her friends to sit down. Sure enough, one by one, the girls all sat around in a circle formation, prompting Marinette to open the basket more, revealing the food inside. There were fruits, bags of food, sandwiches, drinks, and much more food for all the big girls to sink their teeth into.

"So, Marinette. That whole Wheels of Steel contest is gonna be happening at the end of the week," Alix reminded her as she pinched a sandwich and an unsliced apple from the basket. "You gonna be comin' down to see how I do?"

"Of course I will, Alix," Marinette replied, then she looked down at Lulu, who was sitting daintily with her feet sticking upward. She was humming a tuneless rhythm to herself as she wiggled her tiny feet left and right. It was because of how precious and vulnerable that Lulu looked that made Marinette doubt Alix's abilities on a roller skate, especially with how dangerous a competition roller derby was. "But, are you sure that you'll be able to handle the pain? The way it's been advertised, Wheels of Steel is a ruthless competition and the other team will be playing for keeps; no matter how they do it."

"Ah, you worry too much, Marinette. I'm a champion rollerblader here," Alix flexed her arms as she flashed Marinette a cocky grin. "Those guys wanna play rough? Wouldn't be the first time."

"Yeah, Marinette. Alix's has got a ton of faith in herself. I mean, you've seen just how good she is on blades," Juleka grinned at Alix. "She's got one of the fastest Trocadéro lap times I think I've ever seen. And that's not just from the day she and Kim had that little race."

"I know what she's worried about," Rose was the first one to speak up as her gaze drifted to Lulu, rather than Alix. "She's worried that she won't be able to support her on the day because of Lulu."

Marinette's eyeballs shrunk to pinpricks when she heard that remark. "Wh-what do you mean, Rose?" She awkwardly chuckled and tried to play it cool, but failed miserably at it. "I'm not—"

"Oh yes, you are." Rose cheekily remarked, sing-songing her words. "You wanna come and see how Alix does in the contest, but you're overburdened with Lulu. You'll probably have to put her to sleep, or she could try and sneak off and find you if she finds out you're gone."

"Oh yeah. Imagine how embarrassing it would be to find out that Lulu had snuck off to a roller derby stadium just to find you," Mylene chuckled, but deep down, she knew that it would never happen under Marinette's care. At least, she hoped that it would never happen.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Marinette tried to control the conversation. "There's no way that Lulu would ever stay up that late. She's got her naps scheduled, and whenever she goes to sleep, she sleeps pretty heavily."

"I know, I know. But you know how little kids are. Especially Lulu," Mylene pointed Lulu out as she leaned forward to try and grab her legs, making high-pitched coos and moans with each move that she made. "Lulu's still only two years old, and from the looks of it, she's a pretty restless two-year-old. If she wakes up and you're not there, she could start to cry and cause a lot of trouble. And who knows? Someone her age? She could try and go looking for you."

"I know that Lulu might seem a little hard to handle, but she's still just a kid. And kids are some of the easiest people to get under control." She reached down and picked Lulu up. "Isn't that right, Lulu? Who's easy to control? Who is? It's you! Yes, it is..." Marinette played with the tone of her voice, causing Lulu to giggle. The silly sounds resonated well with her and soothed her easily. "And besides, if words aren't enough to calm Lulu down, then I know what is."

Marinette handed Lulu off to Juleka as she scurried back over to where she had propped the pushchair up. Juleka, now with Lulu in her hands, started to blush at each cheek. It had been very rare, if at all, that she had ever held a two-year-old in her hands. She was flustered by the gesture, but she knew that it was Lulu so she had to do her best. Her mind was abuzz with what she could say or do to entertain Lulu until Marinette came back, but in the end, something finally came to mind. She leaned her head down to Lulu's belly, lifted her t-shirt to reveal her fleshy belly, then blew a raspberry into it, causing Lulu to erupt with laughter.

"It's good, isn't it?" Juleka asked, only to get no response from the still-guffawing Lulu Dupain-Cheng. Shrugging to herself, Juleka just let another raspberry off on Lulu's tummy, which elongated her laughs. Even as tiny little hands slapped her face and feet kicked against her shoulders, Juleka felt no pain and instead felt her heart warm more and more that day.

"Hey, don't hog all the fun, Julie! Let me have a turn!" Rose reached out for Lulu eagerly, and Juleka just handed her off to her. Lulu was still laughing when she was transferred to Rose's hold, but it stopped when Rose crossed her legs and sat Lulu down on her laps. She then put her hands over her eyes and asked: "Where am I, Lulu?"

That was got Lulu worried. Without being able to see Rose's face, she had no clue who was looking after her. She looked around, worried about the answer. She tried to find Marinette, but she was nowhere to be seen. At least, nowhere that she could recognise yet.

And then, Rose tapped Lulu on the shoulders, commanding her full attention again. She pulled down both of her hands from her face, saying "Peekaboo, Lulu! Here I am!"

That was what immediately dispelled Lulu's apprehension and worries. And in an instant, her frown turned itself upside down into a wide smile as she made what could only be described as a two-year-old cheering with glee. She reached her arms upwards, prompting Rose to pick her back up. She was held gently in both arms by Rose and, once brought close enough to her face, Lulu booped Rose on the nose.

"Aww, that's cute, isn't it?" Alix reached over for Lulu this time and took her from Rose's hands. Now that it was her turn to take care of Lulu, Alix had a much different plan in mind. "So, kid. You ever wanted to fly?" She asked, only to get no response from Lulu. "I'll take that as a yes. Now—" She lurched her arms straight upwards, bringing Lulu high into the air. "Up you go!"

Lulu was taken by surprise with Alix's moves, but she still kept her eyes on the pink-haired tomboy as best as she could. Then, she was brought crashing back down to earth but stopped mere inches away from Alix's laps. The speed that she had been bounced at was a little disconcerting, so her smile did fall a little bit.

Alix took notice of that frown. "Oh, you're not a fan of that speed? Alright. I gotcha," Alix lifted Lulu again, but this time, it was slower than the last time. This time, Lulu grinned as she floated elegantly off of the ground; hoisted up by a pair of hands from a big girl like Alix.

"Ooh..." Lulu remarked as she looked down at the ground. She wasn't very far away from it, but she was in a standing pose and didn't feel her feet touch the ground. Curious, she looked down at her feet and tried to reach them, but Alix's hands on her chest prevented her from reaching down any farther. Still, that didn't stop her. Wriggling her arms, Lulu kept on trying. And then, Alix lowered her down. As she saw the ground coming closer and closer to her, Lulu tried to touch it with the tips of her feet. Instead of the ground, she touched Alix's legs instead.

"Not gonna lie, this squirt is pretty sweet. Who knew that Marinette bagged such a cutie?" Alix sat Lulu down, then turned her head to the right. "Hey, Mylene? You want a turn at holdin' her?"

"M-me?" Mylene jumped at the thought of cradling Lulu and interacting with her. "Oh no, no, no, no. She's Marinette's child, not mine. It just... Well, I mean, it's not completely wrong, but still..." Before she knew it, Alix had dropped her into Mylene's legs and Lulu was now gazing up at her with wide eyes. "H-hi there." Mylene shyly waved her hand.

Lulu just giggled. "You funny!" She replied, waddling up Mylene's legs to her chest. She planted her face on Mylene's chest and snuggled into it, her arms constricting Mylene's belly as tight as they could—which, for a two-year-old, wasn't very tight at all.

"Funny?" Mylene thought to herself as she felt Lulu's grip getting tighter. Then, something came to her mind. The other girls had played around with Lulu in their ways, but now it was her turn to bring something to the table. So, she pulled Lulu out of her hugging posture and said, "You know, you're pretty funny too, Lulu."

"Me?" Lulu put a hand on her chest. "Why me funny?"

"Because you're oh... so... ticklish!" Quick as a flash, Mylene lifted Lulu's little arms and tickled her underneath her armpit. The toddler once more burst out in laughter again as Mylene's fingers tickled her in all of the spots she was her most ticklish. She squirmed, writhed, and shook all around as Mylene went on with her barrage. "You're the most ticklish girl I think I've ever seen, aren't you?" Mylene asked, but Lulu couldn't answer straight anymore.

"Hey, hey, hey. Mylene. Don't play with her too much." Alya knew what was about to happen and pushed her arms forward defensively. "Kids can only take so much excitement at once. If you play with 'em too much then..."

But it was too late. Lulu was already too far gone. She had been laughing and playing far too much that day. Marinette's friends had given her nothing but glee and elation. And now that was going to be rather costly. For in the middle of her laughter, Lulu felt something damp on her butt. She had been laughing for so much that she had started to pee herself, the pee being collected by her pull-ups hiding underneath her pants. Suddenly, the laughter stopped as Lulu realised what had just happened. She had wet herself, and Marinette was still missing. She looked around at the group, confused and more vulnerable than ever. She sniffled as tears began to form in her eyes. Finally, Lulu started to cry. It was only a little whimper, but it started to grow and grow.

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry, Lulu, I'm so sorry!" Mylene felt the panic in her mind begin to grow as she watched Lulu cry and bawl her eyes out. Taken by surprised, she lurched as Alya snatched Lulu out of Mylene's grasp and stood up. "I didn't mean to make you cry!"

"Hey, hey, hey. It's alright. I think I know how to deal with this." Alya nodded as she carried the still-moaning Lulu away from the group of girls. She carried Lulu over towards the chair where Marinette was still looking around for what she needed. "Ssh, ssh, ssh. I'm here now. Nothing to worry about. Cousin Alya's here for you, Lulu." Alya said, shushing Lulu delicately by placing a finger on her lips. The crying did dissipate, but Lulu was still letting out a worried moan.

"I pee-pee'd my pants..." Lulu despaired, putting her hands down where the wet patch was.

"I know you did. But it's alright. We can fix that," Alya said, as motherly as she could. Then, her focus turned to Marinette. "Hey, Mari? We've got a bit of a situation here."

"What is it?" Marinette looked up from the chair and noticed Lulu's upset fact. She let out a gasp and hurriedly took her back into her grasp. "Oh my gosh. Lulu?!" She asked. "What happened to you?"

"Ma-wa-ne... I pee-pee'd my pants." Lulu moaned as she reached out for Marinette's face. At least she was with someone who could care for her.

"Oh, Lulu... I'm sorry. I wasn't here for you. I'm so ashamed." With nothing else said, Marinette laid Lulu down on the park bench, covered her up from the world, and pulled her pants down. She took the soiled pull-ups off and stuck Lulu into a brand new pair, disposing of the soiled pair by tossing it into the nearby bin. "What happened, Alya?"

"Well, the girls were all trying to play with Lulu to make her feel happy since you weren't there, so we all took turns," she explained. "Juleka blew raspberries into her tummy, Rose played peekaboo with her, Alix tried lifting her up and down, and then Mylene tickled her into submission. Unfortunately, it was what Mylene did that made Lulu pee herself."

"Right..." Marinette hung her head.

"H-hey. Don't get all worked up over the girls, Marinette. They were only trying to make Lulu happy," Alya went on. "I know that you might get a little bit defensive over Lulu since we were the ones that made her sad, but there's no need—"

"I know. You were all just trying to put a smile on her face," Marinette grinned up at Alya. "I can appreciate that. It's not exactly an easy life, living with a tiny, energetic, bouncy two-year-old. But I'm glad that you're all pitching in to keep her entertained while I'm not there to look out for her," Marinette didn't even bother to mention the other truth about Lulu being Lila, since they had dismissed it in the past. But she knew that they would still support her even if it was the case. "But now you know for the future; don't make her so excited that she wets herself."

"Got it." Alya gave her a thumbs-up. "Now, why don't we head on back? There's still a lot of food left, and Lulu's only really eaten one thing."

"Yeah, but there's one more thing that I need to pick up first." Marinette went back to the chair and finally plucked out what she had been looking for. A teddy bear with yellow-gold fur, black beads as eyes, and a thin smile on its' face. It was wearing a blue dress with a white polka dot pattern and had a pink bow on the top of its' head.

"Teddy!" Lulu squealed and lunged for the teddy. She grabbed it eagerly and squeezed it tight to her chest, moaning in delight as she cuddled the plush toy as tightly as she could. She turned to Alya and said, "Teddy! Look, Awa! Teddy!"

"Yes, I see Teddy," Alya replied. "Is he special?"

"Mmhmm!" Lulu nodded. "Ma-wa-ne says Teddy is my bestest-best friend! He keeps me safe from meanies and I play with him all day!" She explained as best as a toddler could. "Ma-wa-ne lets me sleep with Teddy too. He so comfy to cuddle when I go sleepies!"

"Yep. I got Lulu her teddy bear for her second birthday," Marinette said, although she really considered it the second anniversary since the fateful day that Lili Rossi, as a baby, had shown up on her doorstep. She just called it a birthday in order to live it down and push back any negative thoughts. "Ever since, the two of them became inseparable."

"Cool. So you brought it here to comfort her?" Alya replied.

"That's right. And I thought it'd be a nice surprise for her. We usually never let Teddy leave the house, but since it's a special day, I thought that he could come out once." Marinette said, tousling Lulu's hair.

"Thankies, Ma-wa-ne!" Lulu replied, hugging Marinette and the teddy bear all at once. Smiling, her entire attention turned to the bear as she rubbed her skin against the fur.

"Okay. Now we can go back." Marinette smiled as she lead the way back to the picnic, with Alya close behind.

For the whole walk, Alya watched as Lulu was caressing the bear tightly as she could. Not a single word escaped Lulu's lips as fur met flesh. Alya had always been one to look out for Marinette, but Alya could tell that with the bear in Lulu's hands, that Lulu was in good hands. With it as a coping mechanism to make her feel happy again, she could feel a lot of the pressure being lifted off of Marinette's conscious. And that put her mind at ease.

As Marinette and Lulu came back, the other girls watched on with a few emotions. They were all worried about what Marinette would say since they were responsible for making her cry. Mylene, most of all, had been the most stressed out about what Marinette would have to say. All of them leaned forward as Marinette and Alya sat down, with Marinette laying Lulu down on the blanket.

"I know that you were all trying to make Lulu happy, and I have to thank you for that. But please do be careful in the future," Marinette said, addressing them all, patting Lulu on the back. "Lulu's still just a little kid. She can't control her bladder that good yet. That's why, underneath her clothes, she wears a pair of pull-ups. And because she was laughing that much, she ended up wetting herself. I know that you didn't mean any harm, though."

"I'm sorry, Marinette. I didn't mean to be the one to make her crack..." Mylene was the first one to speak. "I just thought that, if we were all doing our part to make her feel happy, then I should have at least offered something to the table."

"It's fine, Mylene. You don't have to contribute, but I welcome it all the same. Just as long as it doesn't end up making Lulu do... that." Marinette patted Mylene on her shoulder. "Don't get too hung up on this. That goes for all of you. Sure, Lulu's had a little bit of an incident. But it's just a passing thing. Nothing to dwell on."

"Thanks, Marinette." Mylene smiled in relief.

Lulu took that moment to peak her head away from the teddy bear and look at the big girls again. She crawled forward a tiny distance and said, "Look, teddy! Big friends!" She said, turning the bear to face everyone. "Rosie! She plays peekie-boo! Juwaka! She does this!" She took an interval to blow a raspberry into her teddy's tummy. "Awix! She's bouncy! Me-len! She's tickly! And Awa! She like Ma-wa-ne!"

"Hello there, Teddy." Rose hunched over like a cat to get a closer look at Rose's teddy bear. "I'm cousin Rosie. It's very nice to meet you." She shook the paw of the teddy bear gently. An action that Lulu approved of with a grin.

"That's a nice bear ya got, kid? He's that special to you?" Alix asked, as she too came forward.

"Mmhmm!" Lulu nodded vigorously. "Teddy keeps the scaries and meanies away. And he's comfy to cuddle too!"

"Aww... that's sweet." Juleka was the next one to bring her face closer to Lulu's. "Y'know, when I was a little kid, I had a teddy bear just like that. He was called Snuggy-Wuggy, and Luka gave him to me in the middle of a nasty storm. I still have him. And, if you want, I could show you to him someday."

"I'm sure that she'd love that, Juleka. Thanks for offering," Marinette nodded, clasping her hands together. "Did you hear that, Lulu? Another teddy."

"Another teddy? I wanna see! I wanna see!" She exclaimed, bouncing up and down on the spot.

Marinette just chuckled and tousled Lulu's hair. "Another time, Lulu. For now, it's time we get back to eating." She patted Lulu's belly. "You've had so much fun with your new big-girl friends, that you've forgotten all about that little belly of yours." Marinette patted it. "Come on. Open wide..."

Lulu opened her mouth as Marinette procured some grapes and cherry tomatoes once again. First, a grape went in. Then Lulu chewed it into submission until at last. Then, the process was repeated, but this time with another tomato. Everyone else, in the meanwhile, was munching down on other food. Crisps, sandwiches, larger whole fruit pieces, and even some pastries that Marinette hand-made herself. The food-eating went on and on, until at last, Lulu had eaten her fill, flopped onto her back, and patted her stomach with one hand, while holding her teddy bear in the other.

Everyone was at peace that day. Marinette had brought Lulu out to the park for a nice day and had introduced her to her friends the best that she could. Marinette's friends were happy because of what a nice time they were having with Marinette and Lulu. And Lulu was happy not only for eating the delicious food and meeting Marinette's new friends, but also because she was cuddling with her favourite teddy bear at the same time. And once they had let their food sink in, the girls all got to what they liked doing the best; talking to each other about things and playing games with Lulu and each other. Each of them all had one thing on their mind; to let moments like this last however long that they could. After all, they never knew when they'd get another moment as joyous as this...


	14. In Which Marinette Puts Lulu Through School

_1 Year Later..._

* * *

Lulu woke up early that morning, throwing her arms out to the side. She was greeted with a warm, fuzzy ray of sunshine and held her favourite teddy bear (which once belonged to Marinette) close to her chest. But that wasn't all that she had to make her feel happy that day. After all, today was a very special day for Lulu. It was her first day of school.

Lulu was still growing up, so she had wondered what a "school" even was, but Marinette and her mommy and daddy had told Lulu that school was a wonderful place where she would be able to make so many new friends, play lots of fun games, and learn all about things that would help her out when she gets older. Lulu didn't have any real dreams or plans for the future as it stood, but she was just glad to be living a life with a family. Mostly because of Marinette.

Marinette was the driving force for her personality, her family, and for all of the other good things she had in her life. And Lulu always knew that, no matter what happened, she would always have her back. In fact, it was because of Marinette that she had finally learned how to talk properly. Until a few months ago, Lulu had only spoken in gurgles and nonsense. But under Marinette's tutelage, she had learned a firm grasp on English and French, but still struggled with Chinese a fair bit. She could only hope that Marinette and her parents had more time on their hands.

Speaking of Marinette, Lulu placed the teddy bear back on her bed and got out of bed, revealing her pink and purple pyjamas. She climbed the ladder up to Marinette's bed. She crawled over to Marinette's head and gently shook her chest. "Mari... Mari! Wake up, wake up!" Lulu called as she tried to wrest Marinette from the world of dreams. "First day of school today! No more sleepy time!"

"N-no, Chaton... I couldn't. I really shouldn't..." Marinette muttered in her sleep; still very deeply enraptured with the dream that she was having. "Besides, why are you even tempting me...? We're supposed to be on duty..." She snored inbetween her sentences.

Lulu huffed, making a pout with her face as she folded her arms. There was only one thing that would work here. "The super-duper wakey-up trick!" Lulu said to herself. Then, with no further delay, she sped over to where Marinette's tummy was and crawled underneath the covers. Buried in a veil of magenta, Lulu scrambled to Marinette's belly, pulled up her pyjama top and blew the biggest raspberry that she could into Marinette's stomach.

Marinette immediately woke up, declaring. "I'M CREPE!" She looked around and saw that it had, in fact, been all a dream, and that she was still in her room. However, with one other little visitor who poked her head up from the covers, giggling her little head off. "Oh. Good morning, Lulu."

"Mornie, Marinette!" Lulu giggled and waved her little hand at Marinette.

"You're up awfully early, Lulu." Marinette reached over and tousled her hair. Marinette had changed up Lulu's hairstyle a little now that she was older. The front of her hair was combed straight down similar to how Lila used to wear it, but now, she had a pair of small buns near the back of her head, tied up by the same red ribbon that Marinette used for her twin ponytails.

"First day of school! That's today!" Lulu reminded her, then hurried back down the ladder, jumping off of the bottom rung and landing on the ground daintily, using her arms to balance herself. "Come on, come on! School time!" She opened up the hatch leading down to the living room/kitchen and went down that ladder as well.

Marinette could only smile at Lulu's antics. She got out of the bed herself and took her pouch. Tikki was already inside it, waiting to go. "Good morning, Tikki," Marinette said as she slung the pouch over her shoulder.

"Good morning, Marinette." Tikki yawned, rubbing her eyes groggily as she stared up at Marinette. "I don't know how you sleep so well on long nights like last night. Especially with a long day ahead like this..."

"We had an awful lot on our hands last night with that Rave Raven that Hawkmoth made last night. Funny. Would've thought he ran out of villains by this point. It's only been like, what, 4 years since we started this whole thing?" Marinette let out a little yawn of her own, fanning her mouth with her fingertips. "But, you know what they say. No rest for the wicked..."

"Are you sure that you'll be okay today? You shouldn't be pushing yourself too hard like this, Marinette." Tikki flitted out and pressed her paws against Marinette's cheeks. "Between your education, your family work, your friendships, being Ladybug, and raising Lulu, you barely have any time to yourself anymore. I'm just glad that she's growing up."

"Yeah. She's such a sweet kid, isn't she?" Marinette looked down at the bottom of the ladder leading to the rest of her house and saw that Lulu was tugging on her parents' trousers with anticipation. "It almost seems like yesterday that we found her as a baby on our doorstep. And that she's actually Lila Rossi. Man... How quickly time flies."

"For her and for you. I mean, you're going to be eighteen next year, Marinette!" Tikki threw down her arms. "You're not even out of your education yet and you're still fighting Hawkmoth, while raising a child and trying to live a stable life with your friends. For anyone else, that'd be far too much!"

"Oh, Tikki. I'm fine. I'm perfectl—" Before she could even finish her sentence, Marinette let out another yawn. This one much longer than the last. "—fine. I have to be, right? Otherwise, who knows what Hawkmoth could do with our Miraculouses..."

"I know. I just wish you'd start getting some more help, Marinette. And I don't just mean temporary help." Tikki stared at Marinette's pupils directly. "You've been running yourself ragged with just Cat Noir by your side. It's time to start thinking of some **permanent** hero back up; not just temporary."

"Permanent? Oh, I don't know about that, Tikki. I mean, if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Marinette chuckled to herself weakly as she climbed down the rungs, feeling it more of a challenge than usual. She didn't even notice Tikki hurrying back into her pouch as she came into the view of her parents. "I'm completely fine. I just..." She yawned for the third time. "Need to wake myself up. That's all."

"Good morning, sweetie!" Tom Dupain was the first to greet Marinette with a tender hug. "How's my not-so-little dumpling doing today?"

"Oh, the usual, dad. Just woke up and I'm already counting the hours until I get back to bed," Marinette gave Tom a grin. Then, she looked over to the fruit bowl and pinched an apple. She went over to the breakfast bar and placed it down by her stool, which was positioned right next to the stool where Lulu was sitting, eating away at her cereal.

"Well, you've got an awfully long day ahead of you. I figured that you could use something to help you get along," Sabine Cheng was the next one to speak, preparing Marinette a glass of orange juice. She placed it down by the apple. "After all. There's nothing that wakes someone up than some good food from their loving parents."

"Thanks, mom." Marinette wearily replied, her hands shaking slightly as she took a sip of the drink. The taste of freshly squeezed oranges trickled down her throat and into her gullet. 

"So, you and Lulu both have very busy days, don't you?" Tom asked as he placed down some toast at Marinette's seat. "You have your last year in College Francois Dupont and—"

"And I have school!" Lulu threw her arms into the air, cutting off Tom immediately, tossing some of the cereal that was on her spoon behind her.

Sabine chuckled to herself. "You're very excited, aren't you, Lulu?" She asked as she immediately hurried over to clean up Lulu's mess. "It reminds me when Marinette started off in pre-school. She just couldn't wait to get started. In fact, she practically jumped into our bed once it was daylight."

"Mom..." Marinette blushed at each cheek, twiddling her fingers as she tried to recall such a story, but nothing came to mind.

"Oh, I remember that day too. She was also a little worried when she saw the other kids. She even tried to go back home with us, but once we left her there, it was the complete opposite at the end of the day: She got attached to the place and it was a chore to get her back home." Tom chuckled as he looked at both Marinette and Lulu. "Oh, but I'm sure history won't repeat itself when you take Lulu there, Marinette."

"If you say so." Marinette just took the first bite out of her toast.

"Marinette! Marinette! How many friends will I make in school?" Lulu asked, practically bouncing in her seat with how her body was moving.

"I don't know, Lulu. We'll just have to count them as we go in now, won't we?" Marinette playfully replied as she reached over for Lulu's hands. "See your fingers? We can use them to count off all the new friends you'll have today."

"Ooh..." Lulu looked down at her fingers, wiggling them with another giggle.

Tom and Sabine watched from the other end of the breakfast bar at Marinette and Lulu, watching as Marinette taught Lulu how to count using her fingers. For both of them, it was one of the more heartwarming sights that they had seen as parents; to see Marinette behaving like a big sister—even if it was for a child that wasn't their own flesh and blood.

Once both of them had finished their little counting session, Marinette and Lulu got back to eating away at their food. Lulu munched down on spoonful after spoonful of cereal while Marinette took her time to eat the toast and drink her juice. It wasn't long before both of them were finished, however. Marinette got off of her stool first, then lifted Lulu back onto the ground afterwards.

"Eeeeeeee! It's time, it's time! Time for school!" Lulu jumped up and down for joy. "Come on, Marinette! Let's go, go, go!" She sped off towards the door, but before she could make any major distance, she was scooped back into the air by Marinette. "Hold on, Lulu. We can't exactly go out in our PJs now, can we? It's not Pyjama Day. Not yet, at least." Marinette chuckled as she carried Lulu back upstairs.

"Pyjama Day? What's that?" Lulu tilted her head as Marinette took her back up to their room.

"Well, let me tell you, Lulu," she started. "Pyjama Day's one of the most fun days you can have in school. It's like a regular school day, but you come dressed in your pyjamas instead of your normal clothes..."

* * *

Both Marinette and Lulu were finally dressed and walked out of the back door of the house together. Marinette was dressed in her usual attire, albeit a larger size because of how much older she was. Lulu, on the other hand, was dressed in an olive-green shirt with a frilly, pink skirt by her waist. She also wore a pair of tight pink trousers, complete with lavender-coloured shoes that had a tiny crystal at the tip of each. Some white socks could be seen stretching out of the shoes, but they were quickly lost underneath Lulu's trousers. Both girls were wearing a backpack. Marinette's was blueberry coloured, while Lulu's was pink with a picture of what looked like a fairy on the front.

"Mari! Mari! Let's play I-Spy as we walk!" Lulu beamed from ear to ear. "I'll start! I-Spy with my little eye..." She looked around for something that looked nice to her. "Something beginning with... F!"

"Gee, I don't know..." Marinette smirked as her razor-sharp eyes began observing the world around her. She knew for sure that her first guess would be the right one. There were only so many things a little kid could say that started with F. "Is it... a flower?"

"Hehe. Yep!" Lulu gave Marinette a vigorous nod. "So, Marinette. Tell me more. What kind of things do we do at school?"

"Well, Lulu. I haven't exactly been to the school you're going to in years. I hardly even remember what I used to do. But I do know that you'll always have a lot of time to play inbetween your lessons and other activities," Marinette started to talk, hoping to educate Lulu in the ergonomics of pre-school so that she was better-informed and that she didn't seem out of place. "There'll be lots of other kids there, all of them with different personalities, voices, and other super-special things that make them fun to be with. You might have a new best friend by the end of the day."

"Nuh-uh. August's my bestest best friend." Lulu shook her head, scrunching her mouth into a pout. "No-one can ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER change that! Me and August are super-duper besties!"

"Yes, but there's lots of other friends that you can have; not just August." Marinette patted Lulu on the head as the both of them turned a corner together. "It's like all of my big girl friends that you met. I have Alya and she's my best friend, but I'm still friends with the other girls in my circle. It's not like Alya's the only friend that I can have. And you can still make other friends too, Lulu. It's not all August."

Speaking of the devil, August was on the other side of the road, walking with Summer. He was dressed in a blue shirt with grey trousers and white shoes. He had also started growing hair, as there was now a rather puffy tuft of brown hair on the top of his head, albeit rather small. He was trying to hop over each of the splits in the pavement where the next tile had been laid. Once he looked over the other side of the road, he saw Marinette and Lulu walking together.

"Lulu!" He called from the other side of the road as the cars drove past, tugging on Summer's hand to try and get her attention. "Mommy, look! Lulu's there!"

Summer took that moment to turn to the side and, sure enough, there was Marinette walking with Lulu, holding her hand. "Oh, Marinette!" She called to try and grab her attention. "Good morning!"

Marinette wondered where the noise was coming. She turned to see the other side of the road and saw Summer and August trying to talk to her and Lulu. A smile crossed her lips as she waved back at Summer. "Good morning, Summer! Hi, August!" Marinette called back.

Lulu saw August and smiled a huge smile. Eager to play with August, she called "August!" And tried to run across the road to meet him, only for her to be scooped up by Marinette.

"Whoa! Easy there, Lulu. It's not safe to just cross the road like that; even if August is on the other side of it." Marinette said, holding Lulu tight in her arms. "He'll come to us, Lulu. Just watch..." Marinette made it to the end of the block and saw both August and Summer wait for the traffic to clear and the crosswalk lights to turn red for the cars and green for civillians, enabling them to cross. "Here they come." Marinette put Lulu back on the ground and watched as she ran straight into August's arms, giving him a big hug as he and Summer finally arrived at the other end of the crosswalk.

"Lulu!" August exclaimed as Lulu finally ended her hug. "Where are you going?"

"To school!" Lulu replied with the same amount of ecstasy, throwing her hands in the air. "Big sis Marinette's taking me there today!"

"You're going to school?" August gasped. "Me too! We should go together!"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Lulu replied. "Marinette? Can we walk together?"

"Well, only if Summer's alright with that," said Marinette, turning to face Summer. "Are you alright with joining us, Summer?"

"Sure. You're both going to the same place that I think you're going..." Summer leaned in. "Rainbow?"

"Yep. Rainbow." Marinette nodded. "Looks like we're both going to the same place, so sure. You can definitely come with us." She then squatted down to see Lulu again. "Hear that, Lulu? August's going to the same school as you!"

Lulu let one more gasp slip out of her lips. She didn't think that August was going to the same place as her. As if the day couldn't get any better, she let out a high-pitched squeal as she held August's hands. "We're both going to school together!"

"Yeah!" August replied. "I can't wait! Can you?"

"Nuh-uh! I wanna get there super-duper fast!" Lulu clapped her hands rapidly. "Marinette! Marinette! Let's go super-fast!"

"You wanna run, Lulu?" Marinette asked. "I don't think that's such a good idea. After all, you don't know where the school is. It would be dangerous if I let you run off by yourself, even with August by your side, it could get you both into trouble. Not to mention, I don't think Summer would be happy with me if I got her little boy in danger."

"Aww..." Lulu felt dejected, feeling her face drop.

"But it's not all that bad, Lulu." Marinette gave Lulu another pat. "After all, you've got August here. You can play all the games you want with him while we walk. Isn't that right, August?" Marinette asked August.

"Mmhmm!" August nodded. "Me and Lulu can play all kinds of fun games!" He grinned, then held his hands out to Lulu's hands.

He patted her hands in a rhythmic fashion, which immediately prompted Lulu to reply in kind. Soon, both of them were engrossed in their little game of patty-cake, both of them humming a rhythmless tune to each other as they tried to match the other's rhythm. Every single hand strike that the both of them did made them feel calm and happy. They almost completely lost track of the world around them as they just continued patting each other's hands, while Summer and Marinette watched over the both of them as they lead them towards Rainbow, keeping them safe from all kinds of harm.

"So, Marinette. How have you been recently?" Summer the first one of the two grown-ups to start the conversation. "I heard through the grapevine that you're having your last year at College Francois Dupont. The last year's always the hardest, since you're leaving behind everything that you've been so used to and you'll hardly see your classmates again in the same room. You are going to keep in touch with all of your friends that you've made there, right?"

"Oh, absolutely. I couldn't leave them for the world; even if I have full responsibility of Lulu, my friends still hold a special place in my heart," Marinette responded with a tip of the hand. "Alya, Juleka, Rose, Alix, Mylene, and Adrien. Sure, sure. They've all got their futures probably mapped out for them and I'm still trying to figure out where to go next."

"You're a fashion designer, aren't you?" Summer lifted a brow. "I remember when Lulu and August were still just babies. You always told me how much you enjoyed fashion. You even told me that you met both Gabriel Agreste and Audrey Bourgeois. Who else off the streets gets to have that honour these days?" Summer laid a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "The way I see it, you should never stop chasing your dreams, no matter how many obstacles come your way, no matter how hard it might seem, and how little time you have for yourself, you can do it. Believe in yourself, Marinette."

"You sure?" Marinette asked, her eyes growing wider and wider.

"Absolutely. My little August always says that he wants to become a professional racer and I just have to keep on telling him that he will get there eventually." Summer looked down at August, who was busy playing I-Spy with Lulu, pointing out what she had been telling him to find, for him to then give her something that she had to find. "Children have the most hope for their dreams when they're so young. That hope's like a fire, Marinette. You have to keep it burning no matter what. Either you rekindle the fire, or someone else will do it for you."

"August wants to be a racer? That's a new one. Though, I suppose it's not entirely out of the realm of the ordinary. After all, I remember how much he used to love his cars when he was small..." Marinette turned her gaze to August as well. "I wonder if he's still into them nowadays, or whether he's got multiple interests..." Marinette pondered as she watched August and Lulu play together. Over the three years she had known August, Marinette started to know him as if she was his own son, despite the fact that he belonged to Summer and her family.

"He's gotten older since then, yes. But he still keeps on coming back to his collection of toy cars. It's like he's meant to be a racer. I can just _feel it_ ," Summer replied. "My mother always used to tell me that you can tell what a child will grow up to be based on what they like doing the most. I always loved my flowers when I was a little girl, and when I grew up, I got a job at a florist. So... by that mantra, I can only assume that you used to love playing dress-up when you were a little girl, Marinette. Did you love playing dress-up as a little girl?"

"I... guess I do. To be honest, I don't remember much of it, but mom and dad always show me pictures and videos from when I was a kid. We've been doing it a lot more recently since Lulu came into the family..." Marinette stared down at Lulu, who was both hopping over the cracks in the pavement with August, both holding hands and counting to each other with each crack they hopped over. "I wonder why I forgot in the first place? Kinda seems like the kind of stuff that never goes away."

"It's perfectly okay to forget about things, Marinette. Kids can't process memories as good as grown-ups can. More often than not, they'll forget practically everything after the span of a day or two unless they have something to remind them." Summer patted Marinette on the shoulder. "But you do have something to help you remember: Your parents' videos of you. Speaking of which, why don't you start documenting Lulu? So that you can help her remember things for the future to come?"

"I suppose it would be a good way to help her remember. But... I don't know. It just feels kinda... weird to constantly be filming her," Marinette shrugged. "Even now, I don't know why mom or dad have all those old videos of me. It's embarrassing now that I think about it. Would she even like to be filmed? Even as a little kid, it still feels wrong to do it without her consent; when she has no control over it."

"Well, it's entirely your decision. Whether it's video memories or physical memories, you'll always have something to help Lulu remember things when she grows up. And whatever path she wants to take in the future, you can help remind her of how much she loved doing things in the past and how she can build her future off of what she loved in her past," Summer replied.

Marinette stared down at Lulu; the ideas of memories dancing around in her head as she watched both of the little kids try to hop over to the school on one foot, wobbling around each and every time they came back down to earth. For the time being, Lulu didn't need to remember anything majorly important. Marinette was convinced that all of the memories that she had of being Lila Rossi were long gone. She hadn't felt any kind of malice towards Marinette, never lied to her or her parents, and was generally well-behaved, if a little bit more rambunctious than usual. But how would Marinette remind Lulu of the fun times that she had as a little kid once she grew up? And would she even appreciate those memories? At the moment, it didn't matter too much to her, but at least in the moment, both her and Lulu were happy. That was all that mattered. How long the moments lasted, however, was an entirely different story...

* * *

Both Marinette and Summer arrived with their kids at a house-like building with the sign "Rainbow" hanging over all of them. It was a large rectangular sign with bright rainbow colours around the borders, and all seven colours of said rainbow being used for the seven letters in the word. There were some smaller texts around the sign that showed phone numbers, website information, and various other details for passers-by to refer to when trying to find the place in question. The door at the top of the stairs was also vibrantly coloured, with blue, pink, green, yellow, and doodles scrawled around it, with blurry glass around the door's frame to prevent people from looking inside from outside.

Marinette went to the front door first and opened it wide, revealing a woman on the other side of the door with brown hair, blue eyes, and a pink apron with a pouch around her neck. There were some cartoonish animal heads and smiley faces on her apron, concealing most of what looked like a dark aqua shirt underneath it, with a pair of jeans trailing down to a pair of black plimsoles with white strips. She could only assume that those shoes were there so that the kids didn't pull and tug on them and loosened them up if they were laced or velcro shoes.

"Good morning, miss!" The woman greeted with a welcoming wave and a big grin. She looked down and saw Lulu poking herself out of Marinette's legs. "Oh, and who's this? Is that a new classmate I spy?" She spoke in a playful, friendly tone as she squatted down and held her hand out to Lulu.

"Mmhmm!" Lulu took the hand, ran through Marinette's legs, and stood before the big woman. "My name's Lulu! Lulu Dupay-chay!"

"Dupain-Cheng. Lulu's still got a little bit of problems pronouncing that." Marinette corrected. "I'm her big sister, Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng." She took the woman's hand next and shook it welcomingly. "It's nice to meet you, miss..."

"Stacey. Stacey Bellamy." She revealed herself. "I'm the main teacher here at Rainbow. Are you enrolling Lulu here today? If so, I can get her started right away." As she spoke, her eyes drifted to the side, where she saw August standing by Summer's side. "Oh! Good morning, August." She gave him a gentle wave.

"Good morning, Ms. Bellamy!" August waved his tiny hand at Stacey. "Is Mr. Cuddlebuns here today? Or has he gone back home with his mommy and daddy?"

"Oh, he's here alright. He wouldn't miss this for the world." She chuckled, placing her fingertips at her mouth. "I'm sure he can't wait to play with you and the other kids. And everyone new who's coming to join us today. Isn't that right, Lulu?"

"Yep!" Lulu chimed in. "Where are they?" She looked around the entrance to Rainbow. She couldn't see anyone around except her, August, and the big people. There were, however, some drawings on the walls; most likely done by other kids. The walls had been painted bright colours to appeal to her and there was a large desk at the end of the hall for visitors to sign in. Unfortunately, there were no other kids around.

"They're already in class, or they're running behind." Stacey replied. "In fact, why don't we show you into your new class, Lulu? Since you are joining us today. If you'd both like to follow me please?" Stacey beckoned both Marinette and Lulu with a wave of the hand, which also prompted August and Summer to follow after them.

"She seems a gentle kind of person, doesn't she?" Marinette turned her head back to Summer for a brief instance, before turning it back to see where Stacey was taking them all.

"Oh, she is. She's been working here many years." Summer clasped her hands together. "Lulu's in very good hands here, Marinette. After all, August's loved coming here, haven't you, sweetie?"

"There's so much we can do here, Lulu. So many new games we can play and so many toys we can play with," August chipped in, tapping on Lulu's shoulder as he jogged up to her side. "And Ms. Bellamy's the bestest woman there is after mommy."

"Nuh-uh. Marinette's the best there is." Lulu pointed up to Marinette. "She's so pretty, funny, and she's my big sister!"

Marinette blushed again, the praise from her three-year old little sister was rather alien; especially since she was once the very girl she hated. Marinette just had to get used to it, since she could now properly talk, think, and remember information.

Stacey lead the group at last into a large room with a blackboard at the far right side, hanging just above a brown, tall-back armchair. The wall that the blackboard hung on was painted to resemble the sky, complete with a rainbow streaming down towards the floor. There was a long strip of paper running above the blackboard, showing the capital and lowercase letters of alphabet. Similarly, there was a door straight ahead that lead towards a playground. Over that, close to the ceiling, there was another paper strip showing numbers from one to twenty. Over to the group's left, there was a large window showing off the playground, which had been walled off to keep the prying eyes of the world away from the place. A table wasn't too far from the window, with arts and crafts supplies laden around for the children to use at their own leisure, with crayons, paintbrushes, and safety scissors of varying colors. Just around the corner to their right, there was a large pair of cupboards, elevated by a low dresser that held plastic drawers with square holes in them.

Finally, the most important part of any pre-school, there were children. Not counting Lulu or August, Marinette and Summer counted eight children already taking the time to play around. Some of them were rushing around the room trying to chase after one another or flying toy planes in their hands. Some of them were in a corner, playing around with blocks, stuffed animals, plastic toys, and a box full of clothes either on their own or with others. There were more kids already making things at the arts and craft table too, using crayons to doodle all kinds of things onto sheets of paper. As far as Marinette and Summer could tell, there were no children outside. And when they looked out of the windows, they were right. The playground was indeed barren. At least, for the moment.

As Lulu and August walked into the room, they both passed by a pair of cubbies. Many of the spots had been occupied by other bags and backpacks, belonging to the other kids, most likely. August took the time to tug on Lulu's hand to draw her attention to it. "Look, Lulu! These are where we put our things." He demonstrated by placing his bag in one of the open spots, purposely leaving it by an empty one. "Now it's your turn, Lulu!"

Lulu just chucked and try to put her backpack in the same slot as August's. It was a tight fit, but it still went in nonetheless. "Ta-da!" Lulu replied.

August just chuckled. "No, silly. You put your bag in here. Not with mine," August said. And wasting no time, he took Lulu's backpack out of the slot and placed it in the one next to him. "Like that."

"But August, we're friends. And friends share everything together!" Lulu said, and tried her very best to try and put her backpack back into the same cubby holder as August's. Before she even got halfway lifting the bag out, Marinette swooped and placed her hand down on Lulu's shoulder.

"You do share a lot when you're friends, but not where you leave your bags, Lulu." Marinette tousled her hair and freed the backpack from Lulu's grip. "Now, come on. We've gotta get you all set up and ready for the day."

"Hmm..." Lulu took one last look at the bags, trying to find a way to compromise and have both of the bags be in the same place. When Marinette shook her head at her, Lulu just said, "Okie-dokie!" And held her hand.

"Come on, Lulu! Let me show you around!" August tugged on Lulu's hand again and skittered off into the confines of the pre-school class.

"Okay!" Lulu beamed and raced after him, leaving the grown-ups to their own devices.

"So... what time should I be back here?" Marinette asked, pushing her hands together. "Because I've also gotta get to my own school for the day. College Francois Dupont."

"Oh, well, it's no big bother at all. We'll all keep Lulu company if you're running a little late," Stacey was fast to reply to her question. Truly, a professional in Marinette's eyes. "We can all play games with her to keep her entertained, and there's plenty of toys around for her to mess around with if she wants. Basically, she'll never get bored and there'll always be something for her to do here; no matter what time it is."

"Right. And... if she gets worried, I hope that you and the other kids and help her calm down." Marinette felt a little bit dirty telling Stacey this, especially since this was a pre-school fully equipped to handle children. Mainly, she was concerned for multiple reasons. Firstly that she was leaving Lulu for a long time and she now had the mindset to get really sad and worried about it. Similarly, she still had to get rid of Hawkmoth. If Lulu came into his sights, everything would go horribly wrong from there. "I wouldn't want to break her heart by not being there when she needs it."

"Oh, well that can't be helped if you're in college now, can it? You can't exactly be in two places at once." Stacey shook her head at Marinette. "But that's exactly why we're here. We'll be able to keep Lulu safe and sound, as well as happy too. You have my word."

"Th-thanks." Marinette didn't have much trust in Stacey. But that was mainly because she had only just met her and didn't know how much to trust her. Still, she shook her hand again, then heard a beeping noise on her phone. She reached down and took a look, seeing an alert for school. "G-gah!" She exclaimed, looking at the time. "Oh no, no, no! Alya's gonna kill me if I don't show up on time!" Her entire body tensing up from panic, Marinette took one last look at Lulu, who was already being shown the ropes by August. "Sorry, Lulu... I can't say goodbye proper! I'll just have to make it up to you when I come back. ThanksfortakingherinI'llbebackbythreethirty!" Marinette spoke all in one breath before speeding out of the building like a bullet, leaving Summer and Stacey in the dust.

Both of the ladies just blinked for a moment, until Summer broke the silence by shaking Stacey's hand next. "I'll have my husband come and pick him up as usual. You know how it is, work and all." She said, then walked back over to August, who had been talking to some of the kids. "August, sweetie? Mommy has to go now. But daddy will be here at the end of the day, alright?" Summer leaned down, gave August a gentle hug, and kissed him on the forehead.

August said, "Okay." And simply returned the hug to his mother. "Bye-bye, mommy!" he waved off Summer as she turned away and made for the door, leaving him and Lulu behind.

As Lulu watched the display, she started to think about Marinette. She wanted a goodbye hug as well. But as she looked around for Marinette, she was nowhere to be seen. Waddling a few steps forward, she tried to call for Marinette, but no words came to her lips. Instead, they were all lost beneath Lulu's ever growing reclusive worries. Marinette was always there for her, and now she was gone. She was only three and thought that the pre-school looked like so much fun, but without Marinette, she didn't feel comfortable in it. Maybe it was because of how much she loved her, or maybe it was because of how new all the other kids were. Either way, Lulu felt that something was wrong.

"What is it, Lulu?" Stacey noticed Lulu's worry straight away and squatted down to her side.

"Marinette... She's gone." Lulu looked up at Stacey with wide eyes. "Where's Marinette?"

"Marinette had to leave rather quickly. She said that she really had to go to school. Big girl school, that is," Stacey tried to tell it to Lulu in ways that she could understand. "But don't worry. She'll be back at the end of the day for you. Now, why don't we turn that frown upside down and get the day started, alright?"

"O...okay." Lulu sighed, and followed Stacey over towards the armchair beneath the whiteboard. She motioned for Lulu to sit down and Lulu obeyed.

As Lulu sat and watched, Stacey gathered up all of the children with loud clapping. "Everyone! Come to me now! It's time to start the day!" Stacey called kindly. The noise was enough to make Lulu flinch a little bit, but still, she watched as all of the other children sat down in a semi-circle formation, with August coming to Lulu's side. He held her hand as the other kids all came and formed their shape, but still, Lulu felt shaken. She still missed Marinette. She hadn't properly said goodbye to her, after all. And now, Lulu felt like Marinette had just left her there without saying why and now she felt lost, when in reality, she was found and in safe care. She just didn't know it...


End file.
